‘Someone could get sick;’ Painesville neighbors worry smelly pond is health hazard

PAINESVILLE, Ohio (WOIO) - A stinky pond is becoming a health concern.

Neighbors in Lake Erie Shores say the retention pond in their development reeks of sewage and is filling up with algae and mosquitos.

After getting ignored by their homeowners association, they reached out to the 19 Troubleshooters.

“This is why I bought this piece of land,” said Bill Donner, a resident in Lake Erie Shores.

Donner used to love his backyard.

He called it his escape, enjoying the flowers and the views.

But with the view he sees now, not anymore.

“Normally, that green is solid all the way across the basin,” said Donner. “There’s a really strong odor and when we get above 82 or 83 degrees in the evening, it’s full of mosquitos.”

Donner says now he can barely stand to be near this filthy pond.

And with the strong stench of sewage, he’s worried this is a health issue.

“I’ve seen kids fishing out of here,” said Donner. “Their balls go into there. They get a net. You’re coming in contact with it. Someone could get sick.”

He started contacting his homeowners association about the pond back in 2019. He has the emails to prove it.

He also called the Lake County General Health District, which detected levels of E-Coli.

We called them to confirm.

But despite being given a bottle of chemicals that didn’t work, nothing has been done to treat the water.

That’s why he called the 19 Troubleshooters.

We emailed the manager of Lake Erie Shores.

We tried calling management too.

No response yet, but the 19 Troubleshooters won’t stop trying.

In the meantime, Donner has a message for his development’s management.

“You’ve created basically a cesspool in my backyard,” said Donner. “I just want you to take care of it.”

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