Pueblo’s Historic Riverwalk gets much needed cleanup

The Historic Arkansas Riverwalk is the jewel of downtown Pueblo, however, on Thursday it received a much-needed makeover. Crews have been working on the channel after months of murky waters overrun with algae.

The first stages of water treatment began Thursday morning around 9 a.m., and Riverwalk officials hope to see significantly fewer algae within 24 to 48 hours.

“This year I have heard more complaints than ever,” says Historical Arkansas Riverwalk of Pueblo Executive Director Lynn Clark. “Every year when the temperatures get really warm we see the water quality deteriorate in the Riverwalk this is one of the worst years I’ve seen.”

At a Wednesday board meeting, the Historic Arkansas Riverwalk of Pueblo Authority agreed to stop the channel’s flow, and finance a new water treatment plan.

“The problem is the shallow water, you’ve got a lot of nutrients and high temperatures,” said Chuck Rodosevich of Solitude Lake Management, the company hired to clear the Riverwalk of algae. “Here you’ve got the perfect formula for algae growth.”

Rodosevich and his crew used a copper-based chemical in order to get rid of the algae. However, HARP officials want to be clear that water was tested beforehand in both the channel and Lake Elizabeth before applying anything. The formula works best when there is a lot of sunlight, and Thursday’s conditions were perfect for application.

“We are using a standard algaecide and a standard algaecide is a copper,” said Rodosevich. “This is a particular formulation that we think is best, and it is absolutely totally safe.”

“We are not done until the water is clear,” said Clark.

HARP may not be done for some time. Algae my clean up in a few days, but in two weeks crews will be back on the water trying to rid the murky green color in the water.

By next year, Clark says she hopes to install an aeration system in Lake Elizabeth in order to bring more oxygen to the water which would help make the waters even clearer in the channel.

The water in the channel may not flow for another 72 hours, but everything else on the Riverwalk will be business as usual. Restaurants and businesses will remain open, and riverboats will continue to take passengers.