DPNR and Tysam Tech Host Design Workshop for the Future of Great Pond

The Department of Planning and Natural Resources and environmental firm Tysam Tech, LLC held a design workshop for the future of Great Pond on Thursday and Friday at the University of the Virgin Islands Medical Simulation Center on St. Croix.

The workshops allowed the public to attend either day for an open discussion on the future of Great Pond. This is part of a four-stage process for the decision on how to, if at all, restore the pond. The four stages consist of gathering local data and knowledge, providing a greater understanding of the current conditions of Great Pond, and choosing the design options and the design.

After the introduction, the Tysam Tech, LLC team presented four design considerations for participants to decide from:

Option 1: A large-scale scenario to restore tidal flushing. This primary option restores the tidal flush to Great Pond through dredging, widening the mouth, and increasing the tidal prism. The spillway elevation would be set at an elevation that introduces the appropriate amount of seawater to Great Pond.

Option 2: Presented several medium-scale design scenarios and considered the project size, cost, and complexity.