Boise (670 KBOI) – Okay, it’s getting warm, and really soon it’ll be downright hot…and that means the crowds are already getting big at Quinn’s Pond, and the Esther Simplot Park Ponds.

So Boise Parks and Rec Director Doug Holloway says they’ve installed aerators in all three ponds, to help cut down on the risk of algae blooms and dangerous e-coli levels.

But he says test results show dogs — and what they leave behind — are the biggest cause of e-coli, so the ban on dogs will stay in place.

“Every analysis they have done has come back to say the #1 issue in the e-coli result is coming from waste from dogs,” said Holloway.  “So that’s why we put the ban in place.  Geese were the second cause, but significantly lower, even though we do have a very large goose population.”

He says there are lots of other places for Fido to go splash in the water, including Ann Morrison Park, where the conversion of Duck Island into Dog island is almost finished.

— Jay Howell, 670 KBOI News