My questions are after the third paragraph, but here's the background:

I live on a 14-acre lake in central Virginia. Ours is one of about 50 homes on the lake, in a community of 500 homes. We have large number of off-lake residents that fish the lake regularly. The lake is shaped somewhat like a teardrop, with the large end to the west. I happen to live at the east end, which is a nice little cove that's partially split by a narrow island (maybe 20' x 100').

The lake is fed by streams and runoff, and I'm getting data together to assess the overall health of the lake. It's been tested for water quality in that past, but I don't have that info..

Here's why I'm posting. The center of the lake is probably 15-20'. Where I live is where all the debris and silt tend to end up, due to the winds from the west. We spend a ton of money having the lake dredged every decade or so, but this east end really needs selective dredging more often to allow good depth. Canoes rub bottom in places, and other places have under 3' depth where the actual bottom is probably 2-4 feel below that. It's a real problem, and we are having less success with amounts we can afford to dredge - and where to place the spoils.

I've been researching aeration as a possible (near) future way to keep the bottom clean, but here's my initial question:

If we aerate this eastern point, will the aeration actually reduce the current buildup? We have a mud flat (an eddy at the eastern point of the island) that's probably 4-5 feet thick, 50 feet long and 15 feet wide. It's just 6" or so below the lake surface. We also have a cove that's twice that size that's even shallower than the mud flat. If we drop diffusers into that muck, will it release gasses, accellerate decomposition, and actually "drop the bottom", without dredging?

Also, if we just aerate that eastern point, given the westerly winds, will that area benefit without aerating the entire lake? If we can reduce the volume of removed spoils by a decent percentage, that's money (staying) in the bank!

I'm sorry that this is so long, but I wanted to give you all the info. This old contractor / spec writer is stuck in his ways.