Dredging at the Duck Pond Will Restore Its Natural Beauty

We noticed some men submerged in the Duck Pond on Heathcote Road and stopped by to see what was going on. It turns out that work to restore the beauty of this Scarsdale landmark is now in process. The pond is privately owned by the Heathcote Association. For the past few years it has been clogged with algae which prevented the fountains from running and the water from recirculating.

We received several complaints from residents. Here’s one from 2024:

“The water is now covered with a film of algae, with a foul order and is no longer an attractive destination for residents. For decades there were 2 or 3 water fountains that every spring, summer and fall sprayed and circulated water and were illuminated at sunset. This little park was a beautiful setting for locals to walk or drive to in the evening and weekends and was often a backdrop for pictures of wedding parties, etc. We would also see many ducks and other birds in the park. This is not possible today because of its swamp-like decayed and deteriorating condition.

I was astonished to learn this property is privately owned and the Village has no authority to maintain it in the dignified and appropriate manner so appropriate as the center of our “Village in a Park.” The Village advised the pond and surrounding land are owned by The Heathcote Association, a private entity.”

At the time, the President of the Heathcote Association acknowledged that “the neighborhood association does own the pond and maintained it for years. But now there is considerable sediment on the bottom and it needs to be dredged. If not, the sediment will clog the fountains (bubblers) and break them."

In December 2024 a permit was issued by the DEC to the Heathcote Association and currently New England Aquatic Services is dredging the pond. They are there now, waist deep in the water, removing debris to allow the fountains to run.

Some of the work is being done by hand, with help from larger equipment to clear the bottom of the pond which appears to be made of clay.

The work is expected to take a few weeks and hopefully the fountains will run again and keep the pond clear of algae and debris.