Technical


Water aeration I’m forever T


his time last year, we discussed the importance of understanding water quality issues and the causes, and how this understanding can help develop a balanced management and prevention programme for your water bodies. We looked at the main factors that impact water quality and here we return to discuss how seasonal factors can have dramatic effects.


As the seasons change, so too do pond and lake dynamics and, in summer in particular, biological activity is heavily


120 I PC JUNE/JULY 2018 blowing bubbles...


Reg Varney, international sales manager for water specialist, Otterbine, says that seasonal factors can have a dramatic effect on water quality, with the summer months creating the need for supplementary aeration


impacted. Understanding these factors will allow us as greenkeepers, course managers or property management professionals to find timely solutions to water quality problems this summer.


The only constant you can count on in summer is nutrient loading in ponds and lakes. Leaves, water fowl, fish waste, dead and dying aquatic plants, including algae, sink to the bottom, and this results in an increase of the bacterial digestion rates, nutrient levels and biological oxygen demand. These increases throw a pond out


of balance, adding to the sludge bed or the ‘aquatic compost’ pile at the bottom of the pond or lake. This sludge is guaranteed to give the lake manager bigger headaches within a year, unless dealt with. Summer conditions create a need for supplemental aeration; this allows decomposition to occur at its maximum rate. Plant life changes significantly as well during summer thanks to the warmer temperatures, higher nutrient levels and light associated with it. This creates a high demand for oxygen when a pond’s ability to provide it is at its all‐time low. Aeration systems give a pond or lake the extra boost they need to remain healthy and keep water quality high during the summer.


Time to aerate Whether looking for a water quality


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