A gaping hole in the street near McNichols and Hull, just off of I-75 has been turned into a fish pond by the neighborhood.
The large concrete cutout has been filled with algae and water for the last four years according to Uncle Zeke and Auntie Na (that is short for Sonia Renia Brown) who live on the street.
They decided to take action and raise awareness about the problem, which they have more or less accepted as part of the landscape.
“You can imagine it’s caused some problems for some people when they’ve driven through,” said Zeke gesturing toward the gigantic hole.
The hole was either a project started by the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD) that wasn’t finished by some other department of the city, or the other way around. It’s not really clear.
What is clear is that now there are fish in there and it’s been far too long to wait for a repair.
Uncle Zeke cleared the algae in the roughly 6′ x 30′ hole and took the neighborhood kids fishing. The kids then stocked the pond with some of the small fish that they caught. There are a few blue gills, a koi or two, and a sucker fish.
Auntie Na pointed out that the pond isn’t actually stagnant, but is refreshed by the water flowing through the pond from the broken water main. This flow of water makes the habitat suitable for the fish.
The pond has hosted the fish for a couple months now. and serves two purposes. It raises awareness about the original problem of the hole, and the access to the water problem that some of the city’s residents are facing.
“If the water isn’t free for the people, it can be free for the fish,” said Auntie Na about the pond.
It’s also a fun thing for the kids to do and learn about, and they like to point out the fish that they caught. Uncle Zeke plans to clean up the vacant lots on Hull street, and says that the fish pond is an initial step in improving the sparsely populated block.
Officials with the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department say they have no record of work being done and no record of calls to have it addressed.