EUNICE, La. — The Eunice community park was unsightly a few weeks ago, but the city has since cleaned it up after pictures of litter and debris filling the park's pond surfaced.
The city says the park is at the mercy of Mother Nature.
"Currently, we are in a drought situation, so the water has dropped to a level that I have never seen in my 20-plus years of employment with the city," said Johnson, the city's Recreational Director.
With the low water, you can see erosion, tree roots, trash, and large tires, but the pond needs the tires.
"Some of that was placed there intentionally, like the tires. There are some still left here, and it's for fish habitat," said Johnson.
The city says that keeping the pond neat is a challenge.
"This is not a pond we actively pump into, and it's just natural, you know. With the drought conditions, the water naturally evaporated or absorbed into the ground. The water then drops to a level where all those things could be seen, so yesterday and today, the city has spent some time cleaning up and getting those things out,"
They spent six hours at the park cleaning up everything from debris, trash, and large items like a box spring.
"Wow, that's crazy! The people that dump that over here come on now, they got places for that," said Michael Gaspard.
The park recently went through renovations. The area received a new bridge, sidewalks, and an outdoor workout area. Johnson says the city will continue to monitor the park and ensure it remains well-kept, but he says a particular ingredient is needed to restore the pond to its natural state.
"We need some rain, like a really good rain, to come on in and fill the pond up," said Johnson.
This Saturday, the organization Keep Eunice Beautiful will host a clean-up day in the area and make a few rounds around the park.
