"Goldfish
will save us from flood, say scientists"
Thus the headline in the Sunday Herald, 29 February 2004.
Dr Miklas Scholz, part of the Institute's Environmental Engineering Research
Group, has been studying and investigating the potential of wetlands as
Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems for some time. He now believes that
Goldfish can be used to solve a problem which has hampered the development
of these systems. The full article, from the Sunday Herald, is given below:
Dr Scholz and Megan
By Rob Edwards, Environment Editor, Sunday Herald
It might look like a humble goldfish … but it’s a key component
of “sustainable urban drainage systems of the future”, otherwise
known as ponds. An expert in drainage systems believes goldfish can help
cities solve their water problems.
Dr Miklas Scholz, a researcher and lecturer at Edinburgh University’s
School of Engineering and Electronics, is a pioneer in the use of drainage
ponds, which have been promoted by the government’s green watchdog,
the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa), and supported by Scottish
Water.
There are more than 800 already existing in Scotland, ranging from filtered
trenches, soakaways and small ponds to large ponds and wetlands.
They are seen as a good way of conserving and using rainwater that would
otherwise go to waste, and could also relieve the pressure on sewers after
storms. They are like a modern version of the water butts traditionally
kept beneath drainpipes used to water the garden.
The trouble is, they’re not attractive. Matters are made worse
when they get clogged with pondweed and covered in algae. Which is where
the goldfish come in, says Scholz. He has a plan to fill the ponds with
goldfish, which would eat the weed and algae.
“I don’t mind being associated with what may seem a mad idea.
It’s an original idea, and it could work,” he told the Sunday
Herald. “The goldfish will be an add-on to increase public acceptance
and to reduce the amount of algae.” They will, as it were, gild
the lily-pond.
If Scholz’s vision becomes a reality, rainwater that now runs into
sewers will instead flow into ponds stocked with the carp’s more
colourful cousin. “Goldfish-filled sustainable urban drainage systems
are the future,” he declared. “I’ve no doubt about it.”
Scholz believes a five-square-metre drainage pond, stocked with six or
seven two-inch goldfish, could serve a small group of houses. “There
will be plenty of sustainable urban drainage systems [Suds] everywhere,
and plenty of little goldies there,” he said.
According to Scholz, the scheme could be demonstrated at one of the new
sustainable drainage systems planned for Dunfermline, Livingston and Glasgow.
He has begun an experiment at the University of Edinburgh’s King’s
Buildings campus aimed at proving that the goldfish pond will work.
He is keeping 43 goldfish in eight tanks and measuring the amounts of
different types of algae that they eat. So far, the results suggest that
a goldfish’s favourite nibble is filamentous algae, better known
as pond scum or blanketweed. They are less fond of Canadian pond weed
and common starwort.
Scholz is also running an experimental sustainable drainage system on
the King’s Buildings site, including two ponds. He hopes to stock
the ponds with goldfish later this year.
He is confident his idea will be popular, and claims anglers have already
illegally introduced fish into drainage ponds in Dunfermline. But he accepts
there may be opposition from concerned goldfish enthusiasts and ecologists
worried about introducing alien spieces.
The reaction from government agencies last week was lukewarm. Sepa warned
that the goldfish might be killed by pollution washed off from industrial
sites. “We certainly wouldn’t encourage the introduction of
non-native species like goldfish, and they could prove attractive fishing
targets for humans and herons alike,” said a Sepa spokesman.
A Scottish Natural Heritage spokesman said it would be better to use
native species such as frogs and newts. “We would be very uncomfortable
about a non-native fish being spread around the country. They are fine
in garden ponds but not across the countryside.”
Scottish Water, however, did not dismiss the idea out of hand. “Whether
Suds could sustain fish life would have to be decided on a case-by-case
basis because of the many factors involved – not least the water
quality,” said a spokesman.
Environmental group WWF Scotland was more positive. “This is an
imaginative idea,” said head of policy Dr Richard Dixon. “It
might help us to create attractive areas for nature at the same time as
dealing with our waste-water problems in a sustainable fashion.”
http://www.sundayherald.com/40304
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