Pond Boss Forums AERATION Systems questions Where to begin??

Like it says, where do I begin? I've been reading posts for several weeks now and have learned a lot. Thanks to everyone! I think I have sort of a unique problem (don't we all?). I'll try to explain it without writing a novel.

We are a small, 132 home, HOA just outside of Dallas, Texas. We have a 30 year old storm water "amenity" pond, approximately 1/2 acre, on our property that surrounds our community pool on three sides. (please see linked image) Stormwater is brought in to the pond from both sides and then it flows over the damn at the apex of the horse shoe pond.

Link to Aerial Photo

The pond was originally 10 to 12 feet deep when first dredged. The problem is now that after 30 years of upstream law clippings, dirt, trash etc it has become about 70% silted in. We have looked into dredging it but in the silt tests we learned that there are high levels of Lead, Mercury and Selenium in the silt that will require special removal equipment and a class 2 dump site. This would set our HOA back around $200,000+. Way over our ability to afford. As for the city offering any compensation lets not get started on that.

So, from the research I've done our best bet is the following to try to somewhat clean up and revive the pond. Regain some of the depth back by using an anaerobic bacteria to eat away the organic silt, install an aeration station, install a fountain then in the spring introduce aquatic vegitation that will feed off some of the heavy metals as well as introducing fish to the pond.

So, now the questions. Should I put in seperate aeration systems and fountains or a combination unit like is shown at http://www.pondaerators.com? I've been looking at Kasco fountains with Vertex aerators and about any other possible combination you could imagine. If it were seperate systems I envisioned putting a small aerator on each side of the pool just as it opens to the lage body and then a third once in the middle of the large body of water below a fountian. I dont see how a combined system would give me enough for everything but would like some advice.

Right now there is very little life in the pond except for minnows, a few fish and about half a dozen turtles so churning with aeration to allow the bacteria to get to organic material deeper down is not a problem (I think).

I think I've rambled enough. Any and all advice is greatly appreciated.

Sincerly,

Craig Culver
President (Yeah, I got suckered into being on the board)
Sutton Place HOA
Garland, TX
http://www.sp-hoa.com
craig@sp-hoa.com

Greetings and welcome, President Craig!


I'm interested in learning how that works.

Welcome Craig, did you lose a card game to become prez? What your explaining with the bacteria is called bio-augmentation and in my experience can be used to consume up to an inch per week of organic sludge. However, I think your combinations of bacteria and aeration may be off. If you want to use aeration, wich I definately recommend, then you want to use an aerobic or facultative bacteria coupled with a bottom laid bubbler type aeration device. The bottom laid aeration will ensure that you deliver oxygen to the bacteria and other beneficial microorganisms at the bottom of the pond. Although fountains look pretty, they are not particularly efficient aeration devices if your goal is to get oxygen to the bottom of the pond.

As far as the heavy metals goes, wetland plants can and will uptake heavy metals.See;
(http://www.ramsar.org/info/values_waterpurification_e.htm)
This practice is emerging as a low-cost treatment alternative for wastewater. In addition to heavy metals, these plants will uptake some of the emerging contaminants such as pharmaceuticals. The question is then; what do you do with the contaminated plants?

P.S. I'm sending you a P.M. regarding a particular brand of bacteria that I think would work well for you.

I suggest you contact Bob Lusk and get his advice. Don't make your decision on what and how until you get independent advice from a disinterested adviser (Bob or someone like him) that has seen the site. As you already know this is a big decision with its associated costs. You don't want to find out you made the wrong choice after the fact. I know that Bob has encountered your exact situation before. It is not unusual for companies to make large dollar suggestion fixes based on factors that later turn out to be wrong.

Good luck and keep us posted with what you find out.

Inch per week ? Give me some of that stuff and a money back guarantee

Thanks for all the information everyone I really appreciate it. It confirms my thoughts that in using the bacteria I do infact need a true bottom aerator.

No, I didn't loose a card game, but my mouth did write a check that my butt is having to cash for three years! Our previous board member working on the pond had been doing so for eight years. After a few comments he's off the baord and I'm on. In two years I've gotten back almost $20,000 from our city government for monies we spent as part of a failed project in conjunction with them and am going at it a different route. Hence the aeration and bacteria questions.

Her is a link to our HOA site that shows a proposal that someone else had, filling it in. The top picture in the three is shot of when the pond looks good, scarry.

[img]http://www.sp-hoa.com/PondFilledImages.html[/img]

I'll be sure to post some others when I get the systems in.

I'm sure that I'll be back soon with other questions.

Thanks again for everyeone's help and advice.

~Craig

Welcome Craig to Pondboss Forum:
And congratulations on being a doer instead of a complainer.
I'm in a similar situation here in Mich. although we don't have the sediment problem. I too am very interested in the new strains of bacteria that multiply much faster than the old. Our new lake treatment company is having some success with it on some of their subdivision lakes with storm drain run-off, but trying to convince people that it is not "snake oil" here where I live is a challenge. Microbes and plants to clean up after us is rated no. 8 of the top 10 emerging environmental technologies by Live Science website. I have spent countless hours researching this subject and found that Los Angles County has gone exclusively to these type of products. The most interesting thing I found was about a Dr. Beth Ward at Princeton University. She seems to be the leading expert in this field. I can't find the article/link at this moment, but if you type in Ward and Princeton you will find an article about her and the study she is doing on a lake in Antarctica that has twin lobes, a covered system, and on one side the natural bacteria is functioning and on the other it is not. The side where it is not has salt in it.
I am curious as to how you were able to get funds from your city gov't.? We have run-off outside the sub coming into one lake, and the city workers left our outflow flap open, so we had drainage ditch water backflowing into our lake for several years and are spending thousands and thousands to try and restore this lake.
PondBoss also has a magazine (very helpful) and books, and now a podcast. Like me, you found a great place for help.