Just as sustainable practices are a vital consideration for turfcare management, it is a concept equally as relevant to water management.

Chemicals are often used to treat poor quality water that damages the delicate ecosystems of lakes and ponds and it’s important to think carefully about how to fix issues that arise. Adopting sustainable maintenance practices is crucial to preserving the health and functionality of the water body while minimising negative environmental impacts.

Understanding the challenges

Maintaining the ecological balance of lakes and ponds requires a multifaceted approach. One of the primary challenges is nutrient pollution, primarily from runoff containing phosphorus and nitrogen. These excess nutrients lead to algal blooms, oxygen depletion, and the decline of aquatic life.

Traditional maintenance methods, such as mechanical dredging and chemical treatments, can provide short-term solutions but often come with significant environmental consequences. To address these challenges sustainably, a considered approach is necessary.

What is the harm in using chemical treatments?

Using chemical treatments on a lake or pond that is struggling can seem like a quick win to get the water back under control, eliminating any bad odours or unsightly views. But in actuality, you could just be putting a plaster over the problem while causing further disruption down the line.

Here are just a few of those detrimental impacts that you’ll want to avoid:

Water contamination

One of the primary concerns of using chemicals in lake management is that many of those commonly used, such as herbicides and algaecides, contain toxic compounds that can contaminate the water and accumulate in the sediments.

They disrupt the delicate balance of lake ecosystems, limiting aquatic plant growth and leading to a loss of biodiversity within the body of water.

Algaecides, for example, can kill not only harmful algae but also beneficial species, such as phytoplankton, aquatic pond plants and emergent vegetation, which serve as important food sources and habitats for other organisms such as fish and amphibians. This disruption can ripple down through the food web, affecting the entire aquatic ecosystem and leading to ecological imbalances.

Negative impacts on nutrient cycling

Chemical treatments can also have long-term consequences for water quality and nutrient cycling.

By killing off algae and other organisms, these treatments can release nutrients trapped in the biomass, leading to increased nutrient levels in the water. This excess nutrient load can fuel algal blooms and exacerbate eutrophication, a process characterised by oxygen depletion.

Hinder the safe use of lakes

When using any chemical compound to clean up the state of your lakes or ponds, it’s important to be mindful of the risk it could pose to those using the lake, whether that be for landscape management or recreational purposes.

Suppose your body of water goes beyond aesthetic appeal and is used for watersports, swimming, boating or even fishing. In that case, the presence of chemical-treated water can deter recreational users from enjoying the water and even stop them from being able to use it all altogether

Treat the source of pond problems by adding aeration

So what is the solution?

Environmentally sound pond management doesn’t have to be difficult. In fact, it can be pretty easy with the addition of just one component to your lake or pond: an aerator.

It is the most effective method of pond management long-term.

• They are safe for humans, fish, crops and other aquatic and non-aquatic animals that might use your lake as a food or water source
• They won’t leave toxic residue in your pond or lake
• As the water becomes healthier, they allow your pond maintenance costs to go down over time

How do water aerators work?

As a natural solution to water management, the main task of an aerator is dissolving oxygen so it can be put back into the water. This is an important process to the health of a lake as it supports the aerobic and oxidative processes of the water.

Otterbine delivers the highest oxygen transfer and pumping rates in the industry, adding as much as 3.3lbs or 1.5kg of oxygen per horsepower hour into the water and can pump over 920GPM or 199m3/hr per horsepower. It’s no surprise then that each aerator can capably eliminate the chemicals otherwise needed for healthy water altogether.

Using oxygen to support these processes enables the anaerobic bacteria naturally in the water body to shift into an aerobic bacteria form that can decompose organic matter itself in a way that doesn’t produce carbon dioxide and waste gas — meaning it is both harmless to organisms in the water, and odourless.

When it comes to aerating your lakes and ponds, there are two main systems you can choose from: subsurface and surface.

Bottom up for unseen aeration

‘Bottom up’ aeration systems or subsurface aerators, such as Otterbine’s Air Flo 3 aspirator, operate discreetly beneath the water’s surface, often unnoticed by casual observers meaning they don’t disturb the natural surroundings of the lake environment at all.

The method involves the injecting of air through a tube, which is then released via a diffuser positioned at the bottom of the water body. As the oxygen bubbles rise, they gradually dissolve into the water. This process, often referred to as a ‘bubbler system’, enhances the water’s oxygen levels, supporting aquatic life and your lake or pond’s ecosystem health.

In the realm of sustainable lake management, subsurface aeration offers several advantages. Not only does it increase oxygen levels in deeper waters to prevent the accumulation of anaerobic sediments and the release of harmful gases, but subsurface aeration promotes water circulation and mixing, which can reduce the risk of algae growth before it occurs.

Although subsurface aeration can work at any depth, deeper placements allow for greater oxygen transfer, making subsurface aeration particularly suitable for bodies of water with depths of at least eight feet.

Use surface aeration for shallower waters

Surface aerators are often the preferred aeration method for many landscapers and grounds managers looking to achieve natural pond care.

They sit on your lake and pond surface and are known for their impressive displays, energy efficiency and low environmental impact — as well as the fact that they can operate in depths as little as 75cm of water, making them suitable for ponds and lakes of practically any size.

Unlike subsurface aerators which work silently and out of sight, surface aerators usually come in the form of aerating fountains that form geyser and arch-like displays. But those water streams aren’t just for show, they’re an essential part of the aeration process, disrupting the lake’s surface.

By throwing water droplets into the air, they can latch onto the oxygen molecules in the surrounding air space, bringing them back into the water with them. When they fall back to the surface, the dissolved oxygen can be released back into the water and become available to use in the process of breaking down organic sediment.

Invest in your lakes and ponds long-term

Sustainability isn’t just about promoting a well-rounded care programme for your bodies of water that are both efficient and friendly to the environment they are a part of. It’s about creating long-term solutions so that these bodies of water can continue to thrive with minimal intervention.

Otterbine fountains are engineered not only to be the most efficient on the market, but they are designed to be long-lasting meaning once they are installed they can continue to run for years to come.