**Ponditat 2010**, June 24-26th! This was the 5th annual Ponditat For Humanity˙ event for the *International Professional Pond Contractors Association* (IPPCA). The “Top Guns” converged at the New Covenant Church in Lincoln, Nebraska, and the heat was on! This year had to be one of the hottest events ever with heat indexes in the 105 to 110 range! The Top Guns lost water weight but never enthusiasm for this project.
**It began like every** Ponditat For Humanity. As the Top Guns arrived the “game plan” unfolds, work begins and the transformation begins. It ended like every Ponditat before, the pond owners were Wowed! This year we had a couple of special “Firsts” for the event; all of the IPPCA members that attended were IPPCA Certified Professional Pond Contractors (CPPCs), and we incorporated a mentoring aspect for aspiring young pond builders.
**Going Green:** The existing problem pond had been kept somewhat under control with weekly shock treatments of chlorine and was kept sterile. There were several low liner areas leaking that needed attention as well as up-grading hardware and resealing to both skimmers whose aluminum bolts had disappeared from electrolysis corrosion. The newly renovated system uses 1/3 less electricity on the fountain jets and will be chemical free, naturally filtered and kept clear by an up-flow bog filter system, completing the “Green Transformation” of this year‚s Ponditat˙ pond.
**The newly renovated pond will also be added to the growing number of** *International Pond and Water Garden Society* (IPaWGS) Certified Wildlife Ponditats. By going „green‰, the pond now has become a haven for local birds and wildlife, that within just hours of completion were seen visiting in ever growing numbers. Several congregation members commented that this had not been the case while it was full of chemicals and they were excited about the transformation.
**This year we were also treated to a spectacular light show courtesy of** Easy Pro Pond Products that supplied the LED light rings and pond lights that were used on the fountains and falls. See the night shots of the fountains at our Ponditat link at www.IPPCA.com. Thank you, Dave Ouwinga, Rick Smith and crew at Easy Pro Pond Products who also sponsored this year’s event T-shirts.
**The two** ShinMaywa pumps were just the right match for the bog/waterfall and fountains, so a big thank you to Court, Art and crew at Fielding Pump. A special thank you to John Olson of Graystone Creations and another to Firestone SP for their gracious contributions as well.
Over the years its‚ always been a pleasure to meet the recipients of the Ponditat For Humanity „overhaul‰. They are always duly impressed with the amount of talent that shows up to work on their pond. But there are all the local supporters that help make these events special. We were treated to a wonderful caterer, Kristi, of the Engine House Café in the Havelock section of Lincoln! Danny Keelan, a local pond hobbyist and congregational member, was also lavish with his support and energy.
**Lincoln Landscaping**, one of Lincoln‚s landscape suppliers, donated the rock needed to build and beautify this entry pond/fountain. The mulch was even added to the delivery list for that finishing touch to the project! A big thank you to them for their generous contribution to this year’s success.
But as the sun set on the 5th annual Ponditat and the lights of the pond and fountain draw us in, let us not forget why the IPPCA and the Top Guns make these annual trips to address a lack of professionalism and faulty technical issues of pond building that plague this great industry.
For more information see www.PonditatForHumanity.com 2010 Lincoln, NE.
IPPCA
Woodstock, GA 30188
770-592-9790
www.IPPCA.com
