Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Water chemistry Char'd burned pine needle ash run off into pond

I may have done a bad thing over the weekend and now worried about the impact.
I have a nice approx 1 acre shallow water 4' deep (water table) pond with pretty clear water with vegetation and thriving fishery (due to feeding the last 10 mos).

This pond has a cool little "island" at one end that is about 2000 sqft in land mass.
It has quite a few pines and under growth on the ground.

I started a project to clean this undergrowth up to be able to utilize the island.
It then had quite a bit of pine needles and sticks on the ground.

This weekend I lit a match to it to burn it all up. It left behind a gray/black char'd ashy ground (as you would expect, and as I expected).
What I did not realize and anticipate, is what this ash run off would do to the pond during the next rainstorm or two.

So I googled it and now I'm worried.

This pond is a 6 hr drive from my house where I am now. And if I was on site, I'd be scooping up those ashes in a wheel barrow and taking them far from shore instead of writing this.

So what can I expect as far as impact to water quality, water clearness, and fish health, when this ash makes its way into the pond?
Should I make every effort to get over there and clean up before the first rain storm?
I do value this pond, the fishery and the water clarity.


CampCobb

Before you make another trip there, go to any store that has aquarium supplies. Or even a swimming pool supply place. Buy a pH test kit and an alkalinity test kit. Test the water. You want the pH to be as close to 7.0 (6.5-8.0 is OK) as possible, depending on the time of day that the water was tested. See the attached article for further clarification regarding how alkalinity and time of day affects pH.

https://www.bassresource.com/fish_biology/pond-water-ph-info.html

You might have to adjust the pH of the pond. See this article to further explain that process. It saves me time from typing it all out...... https://extension.rwfm.tamu.edu/wp-...Managing-High-pH-in-Freshwater-Ponds.pdf

Thanks esshup. I actually tested it last weekend.

Attached is a photo of the results.
So my ph is already way off as well as my alkalinity.

Thoughts on the ash runoff into the water?

CampCobb

Not an expert, but ash is usually considered to be a fertilizer.

Can you wet the ash lightly and then rototill it into the soil on the island? I think that would work well, and actually help you get your next set of plants growing well on the island. Of course, it is a huge pain to run the rototiller in areas with a ton of substantial roots.

Well there’s no running water out there and would be tough to wet it just right to till it. And yes the tilling would be a pain. A flat shovel scooping it up would be best.

I guess there’s a chance no rain until nxt weekend when I can get to it.

Cc

Methinks you have to address the alkalinity problem first, then attack the pH.

You could try some mulch or topsoil lightly spread over the top to keep the ash from running off as readily as dry ground.

You might put some of the ash in water, and then test that. Give you an idea of what the ash would do to the pond water.