State says fish from once polluted ponds now safe to eat

The State of Colorado has lifted a long-standing fish consumption advisory from the Willow Springs Ponds near Fountain.

The Water Quality Control Division will also propose removal of the ponds from the List of Impaired Waters in December.

In 1996, tetrachloroethene (PCE) was discovered in the Willow Springs Ponds and the ponds were added to the List of Impaired Waters. The Environmental Protection Agency lists PCE as a possible carcinogen.

The ponds were closed to fishing in 1997 and were reopened in 2007 but a Fish Consumption Advisory (FCA) has been in effect since that time. The FCA recommending limiting the amount fish eaten from the ponds. Those recommended limitations have now been removed.

“This is great news for those who love to fish at the Willow Springs Ponds,” said Commissioner Dennis Hisey whose district includes the Fountain Valley area. “The ponds offer a great opportunity for family fun and the County has worked with many who love the ponds to get to this point.”

The ponds hold trout, largemouth bass, bluegill, catfish and white sucker fish. You must have a Colorado fishing license to fish Willow Springs Ponds.

Willow Springs Ponds are located in Fountain Creek Regional Park, near I-25 and Highway 16.

Visitors to the park are urged to use caution because the trails along Fountain Creek were damaged by flooding earlier this summer. Some of the trails are closed.