I recently made a land purchase that has a 4.5 acre lake on it. My first water sample showed alkalinity at 4. I added approximately 3 tons of ag lime. amendment based on The report showed alkalinity of 4. Neither the lake nor land had been managed, although the lake is overpopulated with bass.
The property is located in the piney woods of east Texas. The lake is completely surrounded by pine plantation. The water for the lake comes from runoff, primarily from one feeder creek. Being located in east Texas, I estimate that their is a fair amount of water flow through the lake at times. Right after the lime addition, we received almost 4 inches of rain. This has me thinking about methods to buffer the alkalinity in some way.
My question is, what can I do to help maintain the alkalinity in a desired range, short of draining this lake and starting over.
I plan to reduce the pine trees around the lake. Will that help?
I was also thinking of lining a long stretch of the creek with limestone base. I know ag lime is used to raise alkalinity, but lining the creek with it is not really an option. Would lining that feeder creek with limestone base be a waste of time and money?
Any suggestions are appreciated. Thanks
