Pond and lake management

It is that time of year again, the birds are chirping, the sun is shining, and the water in the lakes is starting to turn green. Ponds and lakes are a unique addition to any landscape, but trying to keep them naturally "balanced" can be a challenge.

A lake is a living ecosystem. A lake's ability to function has to do with inputs and outputs. If a lake is receiving excess inputs of fertilizer, goose feces, and leaf litter, these inputs cannot be consumed and will be converted into algae.

There are three main types of algae. The first is planktonic, which is what gives the lake an off color, usually green, but at times can be black, brown, or red. These are microscopic organisms and are the beginning of the food chain. The second type of algae and the most unattractive is filamentous algae. Filamentous algae or "moss" starts off by growing on the bottom of the lake and when it fills up with oxygen, floats to the surface and forms mats that at times can cover an entire pond. The third type of algae is rooted and is called chara. It gets confused with aquatic pondweeds because it is rooted and does not seem to cause the problems that filamentous algae does.

A newer technique that biologists at Farmers National Company, a landowner services business, use to control algae in smaller ponds (less than five acres) is a non-chemical approach that includes aeration and monthly microbe applications. Aeration is providing oxygen to the water. This can be accomplished in several ways. Fountains, windmills, and electric aeration systems are the three main types of aeration that we use in controlling algae. Microbes are manufactured and designed to work with aeration to "starve algae" by using up available nutrients.

In most pond and lake cases, it is beneficial to the overall health of the eco-system to aerate. Most ponds and lakes with depths greater than six feet in the Midwest will stratify in the warmer months. This means that the water and sediment on the bottom of the pond has very little if any oxygen and becomes anaerobic. This slows down the pond or lake's ability to cycle nutrients.