Town Park Hit By Drought

A Wrexham park has suffered a severe drought causing nearly all of its ponds to dry up.

Stryt Las Park in Johnstown which is home to the rare great crested newt has felt the effects of a dry winter last year followed by below average rainfall in spring and summer of this year.

The dry conditions, especially earlier in the year, have caused water levels to gradually fall across the summer months, leaving most of the ponds dry and the large pond reduced to a small pool.

Fortunately the ducks that live in the park have been able to fly away to look for new ponds and the newts housed in the park should also survive as they spend autumn and winter on dry land.

David Bithell, Cllr for Johnstown said:

“We understand local residents are concerned at the situation and we are monitoring the position. The rangers do drain the lake at Stryt Las during the winter to tidy up rubbish and remove fish, but this is not being done at the moment.

“The low water levels in the park have been caused by the exceptionally dry conditions earlier in the year.”

Fish were were removed from the largest pond last winter when the pond was drained by the rangers and have been moved to other fishing ponds in the Wrexham area as they eat young newts.

The rangers together with volunteers, plan to use the drought as an opportunity to tidy up the lake bed before the water returns in the coming months.