The Problem:
“Chocolate Lake,” named for its unnatural brown color, had been an eyesore in a residential community in Delray Beach for years. With no clear source or solution and the high cost of dredging, the lake was largely ignored, and its name became more appropriate with each passing day.
In this case, nature revealed its instability by accumulating a growing pile of muck, which continuously reduced the ratio of clean water to contaminated water. As a result, the brown, oozy muck dominated the ecosystem.
With this lake being positioned at the entrance of the community, it was creating a major eyesore for homeowners and potential new buyers.
Key Issues:
- Years of unsightly lake appearance with no obvious culprit or solution
- Lack of bio-activity and biodiversity in fish, birds, vegetation, and other fauna
- Obvious disparity with other lakes in a community noted for water features
- Negative impact on community desirability
The Objective:
After dealing with this unsightly pond for so many years, the community was ready to try a new tool, TryMarine Restore, to help restore their lake. They had several goals for this project, including:
- Fixing the unsightly brown color
- Reducing the sediment – less muck!
- Enhancing the native ecosystem
- Creating stability going forward
- Improving the image of the community at its front gate
The Results with TryMarine Restore
The "after" photo was taken eight weeks after treatment began.
The Solution Overview:
SOLitude experts tested the water and the sediment and diagnosed that the lake’s fauna, vegetation, pH, and available oxygen were locked in an unstable state due to poor sediment health. It was decided that TryMarine would be an excellent solution to help control nutrient levels, boost oxygen, and mitigate the muck accumulation.
TryMarine was introduced to process impurities trapped in the muck back into the food-web, reducing oxygen demand from the decaying process, and expanding oxygen availability throughout.
After four treatments, the lake returned to a natural color! The residents were thrilled, stating, “It’s like a miracle!”
Sediment composition improved significantly as well. TryMarine was able to target accumulated muck, leaving behind sand. After the four treatments, our experts were able to increase the amount of sand present from 80% to 94.4%. In addition, we saw a 13-inch reduction in sediment.
We are happy to report that all client expectations and targeted goals were exceeded.
