Maysville City Park
Why use Roundup?
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Removing cancer-causing pesticides like glyphosate out of your kids’ green spaces is arguably even more important. In an influential 1993 report, “Pesticides in the Diets of Infants and Children,” the National Academy of Sciences said that about half of total lifetime exposure to pesticides comes during the first five years of life. Combined with children’s increased vulnerability to harmful pesticides, this means it’s critical to decrease children’s exposure to pesticides, especially in places where kids play and spend time every day.
Maysville City Works sprays Roundup at park and Playground
Park Maintenance and Environmental Concerns Ahead of July 4th Event
A site visit to the city park on the day before the July 4th event revealed several immediate maintenance, environmental, and safety issues regarding city operations and infrastructure.
1. Chemical Herbicide Application and Watershed Impact
Rather than mechanical trimming or weed eating, a heavy application of chemical herbicide (Roundup) was utilized for vegetation control across the park. The application was sprayed directly onto and around critical stormwater infrastructure, creating direct pathways for chemical runoff into the local aquatic ecosystem:
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Stormwater Infrastructure: Herbicide was heavily applied to the HDPE culvert pipe, the debris screen, and the freshly carved riprap-lined swale. This drainage system is designed to channel rushing stormwater directly into the park pond.
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Roadside Vegetation: Nearby bushes and shrubs adjacent to the roadway were also coated, allowing the chemical to wash directly into a secondary storm culvert.
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Impact on Wildlife: Because the drainage infrastructure flows directly into the fishing pond, the chemical application poses an immediate contamination risk to the local water system and fish population.
2. Unresolved Public Safety Hazards
Two distinct physical safety hazards were documented along areas heavily frequented by children and park visitors:
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Erosion and Structural Failure: Significant amounts of rock are already missing from the newly installed riprap swale. The resulting bare spots and shifting dirt have created unstable footing and ground hazards next to the play areas.
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Overhead Hazard: A large, dead tree limb is currently hanging directly over the public walking path, posing an immediate risk of falling onto pedestrians.
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Resource Allocation: Materials to fix the erosion hazard (surplus rock) are currently sitting unused at Well #5. The JCSO inmate work detail assigned to the city was utilized for reading water meters rather than hauling these materials to repair the park hazards.
3. Operational and Staffing Incidents
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Equipment Accident: A city worker drove a commercial lawn mower off the bank and into the park pond, leaving the vehicle trapped and dangling by a single wheel. Two members of the inmate work detail had to be diverted from their tasks to assist in pulling the machinery back out of the water.
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Staffing Shortage and Litter: The employee responsible for the incident was unobserved at the work site for the remainder of the afternoon. Additionally, discarded cigarette butts were left scattered across the park grounds.
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Private Intervention: Due to the unfinished maintenance and the departure of city staff, local citizen Luis Lopez personally financed and hired two private workers to clean, trim, and prepare the park grounds so the facility would be presentable for the July 4th community event.