When does a pond become a Lake?

During the winter months, our area is deluged with rain. We're classed as a temporate rain forest, so you know that it must come down in buckets at times. 

In order to handle all the run off, stormwater ponds can be found all over the Auckland area. As the sign below attests, this prevents contaminants from damaging the streams and beaches.  

The photos that follow in this post are of Paremuka Lake and the park surrounding it. Now, I've just looked up the difference between a pond and a lake, and because vegetation grows all across Paremuka, it is more correct to call it a pond than a lake. To be honest, I think the Lake designation might have come about because of the fondness of real estate agents who have described the homes nearest the pond as offering "Lakeside living." Bit of a stretch in my opinion. 'Caveat Emptor.'

Whatever you want to call it, it does do a very necessary task and is quite beautiful besides. When I first got here I was overcome with the variety of palms and other vegetation along its course. 

Take a look.

Cool looking dude (geezer) taking the photo huh?

This is the inlet pipe 

This is looking upstream from about the center of the park surrounding the 'Lake.'  In the upper left corner of this picture, is a field, where Summerland Primary holds it's cross country races. Here is a shot of Amiri after finishing the race in 2014

Don't know what he is saying but he sure looks cool.

Here is another view of the inlet pipe. The nearest upstream settling pond is at Shiraz Park. about 600 metres away, as the fan-tail flies.  That pipe delivering the water is about 6 feet in diameter.  'When it rains, it pours.'

This is looking downstream in the park. This is the main body of the 'lake.'

A piece of art adorns one side, but has fallen into disrepair.

There are carp in the water, and ducks of course. We call this lake the 'duckpond' when we're talking about it and we used to feed the ducks, pukekos and seagulls fairly often. The boys have lost interest in that now. 

This is a 2014 photo of Arram and lake side residents.

This is at the lower end, or outflow, about 800 yards from the beginning of this section of two ponds.

To the right of this foot bridge is about 100 yards of swamy area, and then the water disappears below ground to be carried downstream to further settling  ponds. 

There goes the water.

This pukeko, who calls the pond edge home, has an itchy beak.

Ahh, that's better. Now back to the business of finding lunch. -djf