Pond Boss Forums AERATION Should I aerate? How much will aeration help?

My wife and I bought a lot earlier in the spring on a 7 acre pond (plan to build home in 1-2 years). Not spring fed, I assume it gets its water from runoff in the neighborhood. We had seen it last year and it had some scum but still looked decent. This summer (dry and hot here in west central Wisconsin) I have been monitoring the pond and it keeps getting scummier and scummier. Currently about 80% is covered with scum.

Apparently there are quite a lot of fish in it. I don't really know the depth yet. I'm going to call the realtor who set up the neighborhood to see if it was surveyed and such.

It's a great new neighborhood with lots of kids and nature, but seeing how gross this pond is now I'm considering not building on the lot, but reselling it instead, even if it means taking a loss, as I don't want to live the next 20 years with a scummy eyesore in my backyard. (I know we probably rushed our purchase of the lot, but my wife really liked the neighborhood, if ya know what I mean, and it's in the perfect location, job wise) I've read a lot on the web about aeration and I know the pond desperately needs this, but my question to you guys is...will a good aeration system be enough to fix this pond? If so, I plan to go to the homeowners association to see if everyone will support putting one in.

I'm not sure how to add pics to a post here but I can sure email pics to anyone. Or if someone can explain how to add pics here I'll do that. I'm not sure if all the scum is FA or WM etc.

thanks in advance

sam

I registered at photobucket and loaded up some pics. The pond had been 40-50% scummy most of the summer butin the last 2 weeks had gotten really bad, as you can see.

http://s114.photobucket.com/albums/n253/samkristy/

sam

Hi Sam -
There are two conditions that are necessary for a healthy lake; 1.Sufficient oxygen and 2.adequate mixing of the water to reduce stratification so that the oxygen is uniformly distributed throughout the water column. Dissolved oxygen is not only used by fish, vegetation, and other organisms, but it is also essential in the oxidation and bacterial digestion of suspended organic material and bottom sediments.

Under ideal conditions, natural forces can keep a lake healthy and aesthetically attractive, but unfortunately our lakes do not exist under ideal conditions. Water mixing and movement is restricted. In the summer months, hot, hazy and cloudy days worsen the situation because of lack of photosynthesis and the fact that warm water holds less oxygen. Rain and irrigation water runoff carries organic debris, nutrients and other chemicals that consume oxygen.

An effective aeration system brings oxygen into the water, eliminates stratification and increases circulation. This makes the water at all levels able to support animal and plant life, control algae growth by limiting its food source, and aid decomposition of suspended organic material and muck on the bottom of the lake.

With a combination of the right chemicals and aeration you can have a beautiful healthy pond that will actually increase your property value, so don't give up so easily. There are plenty of experts on this forum to give you advise on how to treat the algae. If you want to email me some information about your pond I can advise on the aeration.

Sam:

IIRC this sounds like a community pond with multiple owners having frontage on it. Will there be a community property owners type association for the owners of the lots nominally overseeing rules and management for the pond? If so, this situation has it's own challenges and advantages. There are a couple of threads here somewhere talking about management issues with community controlled waters - if that's going to be your situation we'll have to see if we can locate them.

Sue, as soon as I get some more info about the pond I will email you.

Theo, you are correct. This is a new subdivision with about 25 lots total, 7 of them on the pond, and another 6 of them on the Chippewa River (we all get access to the river through a common area and a huge dock). There is a fledgling homeowner's assoc, but it's not complete yet as only half the lots have been built on. Currently the realtor/developer is still the head of the H.O. assoc. I'll look for the threads you mentioned.

I'm guessin' that I could get the assoc to help fund cleanin' up the pond via aeration, given the benefits of less mosquitos (west nile), increased property values, no bad odors, more fun to fish on without the scum etc. But I'm not sure if people are going to want to frequently spend money on chemicals, esp people who don't have a lot right on the pond. I've read a lot of threads on the board about algae and such and it seems like some people have to add chemicals every week or two, which could get very expensive for a pond this size. I also don't want to make "the pond" a 2nd full time job, I already have one of those, which is plenty. I'll try to get you guys more specifics.

thanks for the very prompt responses, I appreciate them. I really want this to work, as my wife loves the neighborhood and if I change my mind about building on it, I'm going to be the "bad guy" for awhile.

sam

Sam :

Aeration is good and the smaller and more fertile the pond the better it works. It would probably be very good for your pond.

HOWEVER : Be sure what you are dealing with first.

That looks like duckweed (DW) or watermeal (WM) to me (not algae) and if so aeration (unless it is very strong) will not kill it in a 7 acre lake. What is the cost of a system that will make and keep the entire lake in a strong boil? Waves/strong agitation will help keep it under control. DW is a major headache. There are threads here on the subject. Here are a couple.

http://www.pondboss.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=14;t=000231;p=1

http://www.pondboss.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=17;t=000077#000001

Hello Sam,

The whole goal of a lake is to eventually fill up with muck, become a wetland and eventually land.

Our job as "Aeration Professionals" is to slow down this process and in some cases even reverse it.

From the photos you posted, Ewest is correct that the majority of your problem is Duckweed and Watermeal. These plants are mixed in with some pithothora "cotton algae" in the shallow regions.

Most aquatic weed and algae problems exist because the lake is unable to assimilate the nutrients that exists in the lake or are washing in. This is one of the points that Mr. Gallus was making about the number of home sites on the lake and the potential of increased nutrients due to lawn fertilizer etc.

Sue is right about the ways to reverse this process of aging and increase the assimilation capacity of the lake. But, aeration does not kill any weeds or algae directly. Aeration in most cases will not even affect your main problems of Duckweed or Watermeal other than pushing to the sides.

The good news is that if you are able to use an approved aquatic herbicide to kill the dw and wm, by adding aeration that is sized and custom designed for your lake, the nutrients that are feeding the dw,wm and algae are bound up and not available as a food source.

As Bob Lusk has always lectured, you need to first lay out what the ultimate goal of the lake shall be:

1.)Fishing
2.)Recreation
3.)aesthetics

Once this is decided, then a detailed plan of action can be outlined as well as a budget and a timeline drawn. There is no reason to just jump right into purchasing $2,000.00 in aeration equipment and still have a dw & wm problem. There are steps to be taken to reslove your lake requirements and yes you can have a beautiful lakefront property, it just takes time.

Maximum depth and average depth of the pond would determine if I owned property on that body of water. The shallower it is the more problems you can expect. Shallow water is always problematic for weeds due to the sunlight always being able to reach the bottom.

Also fertilization of lawns that drain into the pond will always be a major problem. Everyone wants a nice looking lawn which usually means fertilizer and lawn chemicals; two things you don't want in the pond. IF you have WM and DW then the pond is telling you it is overfertilized. Excess nutrients and annual renewal of nutrients from lawns and the water shed are very hard to overcome even with proper aeration. "Your" pond looks to me, to be one of those poorly designed bodies of water that many developers create just to sell lots. Then the home owners are stuck having to deal with a poorly designed lake that is too shallow and too problematic due a poorly managed water shed.

I think the lake will always be a problem, always requiring lots of herbicides and expense to keep it looking decent. DWeed and WMeal are symptoms of over-enriched water bodies that are in late stages in terms of the life of a water body. Expect to expend lots of effort keeping these types of overenriched ponds weed or algae free.

Thanks to everyone for the responses so far, this board is really something else!

Bill, I think you hit the nail on the head. I emailed the developer who replied that he didn't think the pond had been surveyed, and that he had found a couple spots 8-10 feet deep but he thought the average depth was closer to 5 feet. I checked up on the cost of Sonar to kill the WM and DW. Wow! Around $2000/4 acres (pond is 7 acres), and from what I've read it sounds like that might be an annual cost. I had no idea that stuff cost so much. Wow.

I think I could swing the other homeowners into a nice aeration system, but I don't think there is a chance in hell of getting everyone to support multiple thousands of dollars each year for chemicals, not to mention the manual labor involved in upkeep. I'm going to see if there are any local "pond experts" around here so I can have someone actually come to the pond and evaluate it before I make a final decision, but I'm getting the feeling that it's going to be way too costly to keep this thing looking nice. Right now I'm leaning towards selling the lot and hopefully not taking too much of a loss, and chalking it up to a "lesson learned".

I discussed all this, along with your replies, with my wife tonight, who is pretty disappointed, but understands that my happiness is important also.

Theo, I couldn't find the threads you mentioned about community controlled lakes and such.

Cary, you sound optimistic, but am I seriously looking at thousands of dollars EACH YEAR in chemicals?

sam

Me either, in a short search, and I know they're here somewhere (although we haven't had one for a few months). I will try looking again after I think of some different key words to try; maybe our resident research expert (ewest) can give it a shot.

If I can't turn up anything, I suggest starting a thread on community-run pond management (IF we had better titles on the old threads, maybe I'd have found them already) and we can go over those issues again.

Here are a few. There are more. Try a search for "subdivision".

http://www.pondboss.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=19;t=000134#000000

http://www.pondboss.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=19;t=000133#000000

http://www.pondboss.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=8;t=000043#000000

http://www.pondboss.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=10;t=000156#000000

http://www.pondboss.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=20;t=000328#000000

How close are you to Waukesha?

You're my hero, Eric.

Theo :

Note that I put your very good thread first on the list as they are always a good source for info.

samkristy - The average depth of around 5-6 ft for a 4-7 acre pond in Wisconsin is trouble even with 6 to 10 aerators. Aeration can only solve a certain degree or amount of the problems of a heavily eutrophic body of water, which Dweed & Wmeal are signals for. To get the current nutrients and nutrient recycling under control or direct management one would have to conduct an aluminum sulphate treatment to abate or get the phosphorus load of the lake into a near-term managed state. However the expanse of shallow water (ave depth) will then and thereafter always be problematic for rooted weed growth or infestations even after the nutrients are moderated by whatever means. AS I mentioned earlier lawn fertrilizers will be a constant threat to the well-being of the lake.

The curent characteristics of your small lake are great for a wildlife habitat and fishing lake but not very good for a picturesque setting for a home owners association or lake front property. Not much swimming will be done in that small lake. If the average depth of your small lake was 15 -18 ft or more with a maximum depth of 25 -30 feet deep then owning a lot on the lake would be an asset rather than a liability. Look for a new lake lot with those characteristics. Those properties sell for a premium which you should now understand why.

Shallow bodies of water are hard to maintain for aestetics especially in the northern US; nature always strives hard to convert these shallower waters into wetlands or glorified swamps. Nature does not have to "work" very hard on these shallow waters due to the expanse of shallow water and the accumulated sink of nutrients.

Bill, you make a lot of sense, and believe me, if I could go back, I wouldn't have bought the lot. Sometimes I have to learn things the hard way. C'est la vie, right. I never really planned on swimming in the pond but didn't think it would be too difficult to clean it up some. Of course that was a totally uneducated opinion, which I'm seeing now.

Theo and Ewest, thanks for showing me those threads.

Sue, I think Waukesha is near the eastern coast of Wisconsin, probably in the range of at least 3 hours drive from Chippewa Falls, Wi, where I am (home of Leinenkugel's Beer)

Sam

Is it possible that if Sam put out an aerator in the pond near his lot/house that an area of it would be kept in better condition?

That area would be in some what better conditon due to the circulation or pushing of the surface water to clear an area in front of his lot. The bottom may even clear as the muck is reduced in that particular area.

Unfortunately by undersizing a system like that, you increase the posiblity of increasing the algae by suspending the nutrients that were bound in the bottom sediments and not satisfying the oxygen demand of the entire lake.

I've also learned a lot from reading all of your posts. It must take years to learn and fully comprehend all of this information. I'm getting it slowly but surely.

This doesn't pertain to the subject, but I have to say it. Cary, that is one COOL picture on your profile page!

I'd say it looks pretty HOT to me, LOL

Sam, we are in the same area and aerated earlier this year and as you can see the fishing has become very good

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4627225444978786151

Limb Bream and New, Thank you. I have many more plus videos of fires we have been in the past year. In fact, we had a big one last night at about 2:30 a.m. that took (4) engines and (6) attack teams to get under control. We don't have fire hydrants so we have to draft from the local rivers and transport to drop tanks. Here are some pics of the drop tank set ups, maybe an idea for a temporary fish holding tank? Maybe a little better filtration to remove the clay-stained water...

Well, here's an update. It's amazing how things turn out sometimes.

We listed the lot on the mucky pond for sale and considered buying a different lot about 1 mile away in a new subdivision that is also on a pond. However, this pond is perfectly clean(not a speck of green on it all summer), is spring fed, 12 acres in size, and about 15-20 feet at its deepest. Its been around for about 50 years and has a nice sandy bottom and is full of fish.

However, being that all our cash was tied up in the muckypond lot I dragged my feet buying a lot on the clean pond even though my wife kept telling me to (we could have financed the whole thing). Who knows how long the mucky lot would take to sell?

Anyway, the same realty company and the same bank work together on both of these subdivisions. It just so happened that a builder built a beautiful spec house on the clean pond last year but way overpriced it so it wouldn't sell. They ended up getting foreclosed on by the bank. Get this, the bank gave us the exact amt we paid for the mucky lot towards the vastly reduced purchase price on the spec house, and the realty company bought our old house at a fair price so we wouldn't have a contingent offer on the new house.

Bottom line, we went from owning a lot on a yucky pond and planning to build in 1-2 years, to closing and moving to a gorgeous new home on a jewel of a pond in a 2 week period in early January. Here's a link to photobucket with a couple pics of the clean pond, we're the green house on the right in one of the pics. Also is a pic of a huge 21" largemouth I caught on a tip-up ice fishing last weekend.

http://s114.photobucket.com/albums/n253/samkristy/

That's great, Sam. A True Vikes fan deserves a little luck.