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Church Leads Water Recharge Restoration Project

    A years-long effort to restore a small pond and proper ground water flow along SR 19 at the north edge of Eustis has been completed, thanks to a public/private partnership and hours of volunteer labor.  Spearheaded by Dr. Randy Glisson and the Bay Street Baptist Church, the pond located on the church’s property today is set to provide an important service while also being much prettier to look at.
    “It was a mess,” said Glisson this week, describing a scene that had become common to passersby on SR 19.  Overgrown to the point of appearing to have little no actual water in it, the area had begun to encroach on the church’s entrance.  Worse, it was no longer providing its designed purpose of providing water flow through the area as two culverts leading to and from the pond were clogged with foliage and garbage.
        The pond, which has been at the site since at least the 1940’s, was once part of a larger body of water that was cut in half when what is now SR 19 was built.  A culvert system allowed for water to flow under the road and provide drainage for low-lying areas on the east side of the highway. As the system began to fail in recent decades, the overgrowth got worse and worse.
    “It was getting out of control,” said Luke Raczykowski.
    Glisson took on the project of restoring the pond over two years ago, talking with area officials about how to best address the problem.  In recent months, the Lake County Water Authority came forward to help, addressing the pond under its program to restore ground water flow systems.  The change was startling, turning an eyesore into an asset.
    Lake Jem farms donated sod, and this past Saturday dozens of volunteers from The Cross church’s Men of the Cross program spent the morning laying sod around the edge of the pond. In all, 24,000 square feet of sod was set around the pond.
    “We help people in need,” said Robert Bell of the group, which undertakes service projects on a regular basis to support individuals and organizations in need of support.
    The City of Eustis joined the project, with saying the city is eying improvements in the area  - which sits at the northern edge of the city limits - to include lighting and even potentially a fountain in the center of the pond.
    “That is the entrance to our side of town,” Glisson said.  “It’s not the eyesore it was.”
    More than that, the pond is once again set to provide its designed purpose of providing water holding and recharge in the area.