The Basics of Lake Cleaning and Maintenance
Lakes are the pillars of our communities, providing a source for boating, fishing, swimming, stormwater retention, drinking water, and more. However, various environmental factors, such as algae and nuisance weeds, can impair water quality, clarity, and your lake’s overall functionality. These poor water quality issues can lead to foul odors, fish kills, and unsafe water conditions, all of which can hinder the beauty and enjoyment of your waterbody.
Whether you have a recreational lake or a stormwater pond, implementing an ongoing management plan can help keep your water quality healthy and safe for aquatic life and the stakeholders who rely on it. With regular lake cleaning services, you can stay ahead of potential problems and ensure that your lake stays beautiful and clean for all to enjoy.
Why Ongoing Management is Important
Maintaining the health and beauty of your lake can be overwhelming. As lakes and stormwater ponds age year over year, they can regularly develop unsightly water conditions if not managed properly. Pollutants from runoff, such as excess nutrients, plastics, and waste, can have a devastating impact on lake ecosystems, leading to the death of fish, plants, and other organisms that rely on the water for survival. Excess nutrients washed into a lake or pond can compromise water quality by fueling algae and invasive weed growth, creating an unsafe or unsightly environment.
That’s why lake cleaning is an essential part of a lake management program. Regular lake cleaning services and maintenance are necessary to address these issues and preserve the lake’s biodiversity. Not only does a healthy lake provide a home for countless species, but it also offers a space for recreational activities, such as nature watching, and can even be a source of drinking water. Smaller stormwater ponds are vital to communities as they help regulate water levels and prevent flooding during storms. Keeping these waterbodies functioning properly is essential to surrounding homes and other valuable assets. By utilizing lake cleaners and an annual management program, you can ensure that your lake or stormwater pond remains enjoyable and healthy for generations to come.
The Lake Cleaning Process
Large lakes and stormwater ponds have vast and unique biological ecosystems that require specialized lake cleaning to meet their individual needs. If you’re dealing with algae, muck and sediment build-up, nutrient pollution, or receding shorelines – there are solutions to help restore the natural balance of your lake or pond ecosystem.
Floating Fountains and Aeration
Floating fountains not only add beauty and character to your waterbody, but they also serve an important purpose in lake cleaning. In small stormwater ponds, floating fountains can help improve oxygen circulation and can help create a thriving aquatic ecosystem. Large lakes can utilize surface aerators and submersed aerators to improve oxygen circulation while enjoying a floating fountain’s aesthetics. A well-oxygenated lake helps prevent algae, aquatic weeds, foul odors, and fish kills, resulting in improved water quality and clarity.
Nuisance Weed and Algae Management
Nuisance aquatic weeds and algae can drastically impact the natural beauty of your lake or stormwater pond. Not only are they unsightly, but they can also pose a threat to aquatic life. With professional lake cleaning services, you can safely identify, target, and remove aquatic weeds and algae from your lake. Control can be achieved through effective EPA-registered algaecide and herbicide applications. Aquatic weeds can also be controlled through natural solutions like mechanical hydro-raking or harvesting.
Debris and Sediment Removal
Over time, lakes and ponds can naturally build up debris, sediment, and muck. This build-up can decrease the depth of your lake, fuel nutrient pollution, create unsafe conditions for recreation, or reduce the holding capacity for stormwater ponds. Lake cleaning and depth restoration solutions such as hydro-raking and mechanical dredging can safely remove excess nutrients by physically removing nutrient-rich muck or sediment from your waterbody.
Nutrient Remediation
Nutrients like phosphorus and nitrogen are crucial for the ecosystem of large lakes. When the levels of these nutrients rise, they can severely damage your waterbody’s environment. Lake cleaning services such as alum applications can help reduce excess phosphorus and restore water quality in recreational lakes and drinking water reservoirs. For smaller stormwater ponds, lanthanum-modified clay and phosphorus filtration bags can be used to regulate excess nutrient levels and improve overall water quality.
Shoreline Management
Effective shoreline management is one of the best ways to keep your lake or stormwater pond healthy. Many water quality issues are fueled by the nutrients that enter your waterbody from outside sources like lawn fertilizer, pet waste, and debris. Establishing a protective vegetative shoreline buffer can help filter out excess nutrients before they enter the water column. In addition, erosion repair technology can help repair unstable shorelines, halt sedimentation, and protect your lake from future damage.
Water Quality Monitoring and Testing
Keeping your lake or pond clean and healthy begins with water quality monitoring and testing. To determine the root cause of poor water quality, like algae and weeds, experts can conduct a water quality test. The data from these tests allows lake cleaners to customize management plans that work to stay ahead of any water quality issues.
Help Keep Your Lake Clean
While it’s always best to work with our professional lake cleaners to ensure the health of your lake or stormwater pond, there are a few things you can do to help keep it clean between lake cleaning services. For starters, make sure you’re not using phosphorus-rich lawn fertilizers in or around the lake that could contribute to pollution. Additionally, removing any debris, such as fallen leaves and branches, and bagging grass clippings can help prevent them from decaying and releasing harmful nutrients into the water. Regularly picking up trash, pet waste, and other pollutants can make a big difference in your lake’s water quality. By taking these small but important steps between lake cleaning services, you can help ensure that your lake stays clean and healthy for all its inhabitants.
Lake Cleaning in Action
SOLitude has been providing lake cleaning services for decades. Our team is dedicated to making water a healthier and more beautiful part of our world. Hear from lake and pond owners or managers throughout the United States on the benefits of lake cleaning and an annual management program.
The Benefits of Professional Lake Cleaning Services
While DIY lake cleaning may seem like a cheaper and easier option, it can often do more harm than good. Without the proper knowledge, equipment, and experience, attempting to clean your lake or stormwater pond yourself can result in further damage to the ecosystem and potentially harm aquatic life. At SOLitude, our professional lake cleaners have the expertise and tools to properly assess and address the issues facing your lake, ensuring that it remains healthy and safe.
When you work with us, you’re getting more than just lake cleaning services. SOLitude’s eco-friendly mission strives to implement proactive management strategies that restore waterbodies, improve water quality, and preserve our natural resources. By entrusting your lake’s cleaning and maintenance to our aquatic experts, you can have peace of mind knowing that you’re receiving the best care in the business.
SOLitude Lake Management is a nationwide environmental firm committed to providing sustainable solutions that improve water quality, enhance beauty and preserve natural resources.
SOLitude’s team of aquatic scientists specializes in the development and execution of customized lake, stormwater pond, wetland and fisheries management programs. Services include water quality testing and restoration, algae and aquatic weed control, installation and maintenance of fountains and aeration systems, shoreline erosion control, muck and sediment removal and invasive species management. SOLitude partners with homeowners associations, golf courses, private landowners, businesses and municipalities. SOLitude Lake Management is part of Rentokil, a leading business services company, operating across the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico.
For more information, visit SOLitude Lake Management at solitudelakemanagement.com, and connect on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
