Wakefield Pond on Tuesday, June 9, 2015 in Bowling Green. (Austin Anthony/photo@bgdailynews.com)

Residents in the area surrounding Wakefield Street heard a proposal from city officials Tuesday afternoon to turn an algae-covered pond into a drainage basin to address issues including the proliferation of mosquitoes.

City officials plan to drain Wakefield Pond near Wakefield Street and Long Avenue and turn it into a drainage basin with dry wells to drain excess water down into the karst system below, Project Manager Mike Mitchum said.

The plan calls for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife to help relocate the fish in the pond. 

The pond has been in the area since the 1940s, but nutrient-rich water runoff from properties in recent years has created an algae problem, environmental manager Matt Powell said. The algae creates pockets where mosquitos can breed.

There have been complaints from neighbors about the appearance of the pond and the mosquitoes, he said.

The project is on private property, but the city has agreements in place with property owners to move forward with the project, Powell said. Those agreements will need approval from the Bowling Green City Commission.

“It far exceeds what you would expect a homeowner to undertake for themselves,” he said. “It’s a neighborhood issue because the entire neighborhood looks at the pond, sees the pond. The entire neighborhood is impacted by the mosquito prevalence, and the entire neighborhood will be benefited by additional storm water capacity.”

A bid opening for the project is set for June 24. Work is expected to begin in mid-July to take about 90 days.

— See more in Wednesday’s Daily News.

— Follow government beat writer Katie Brandenburg on Twitter at twitter.com/BGDNgovtbeat or visit bgdailynews.com.