SFPMA

Menu
Register / Sign Up

Welcome to SFPMA

Reset

SFPMA Industry Articles | news, legal updates, events & education! 

Find Blog Articles for Florida’s Condo, HOA and the Management Industry. 

Humans have a powerful connection to water. Learn how consistent lake management can help create happier, healthier communities.

Humans have a powerful connection to water. Learn how consistent lake management can help create happier, healthier communities.

  • Posted: Feb 18, 2022
  • By:
  • Comments: Comments Off on Humans have a powerful connection to water. Learn how consistent lake management can help create happier, healthier communities.

Improve YOUR Wellness with Healthy Water

Humans have a powerful connection to water. Learn how consistent lake management can help create happier, healthier communities.

 

It is scientifically proven that being around healthy, beautiful water can reduce anxiety and stress, boost creativity and improve our overall wellness. This is one of the many reasons why our community’s freshwater resources should be maintained with diligence. Discover how to best manage water quality issues and create a more relaxing, enjoyable space you, your loved ones, and your community can enjoy.

 

How Consistent Lake Management Helps Create Happier, Healthier Communities

Lakes, rivers, beaches, and even swimming pools have beneficial effects on the well-being of visitors that are hard to define. Water is not only essential for our survival, it has a profoundly relaxing and refreshing impact on people’s mental health and happiness. Human beings will always be inextricably connected to water physically, mentally, and spiritually. This helps explain why communities near large water systems are common vacation destinations and highly desirable places for residential communities. It also underscores the importance of preserving our precious aquatic resources.

The Effects of Poor Water Quality

Maintaining balanced aquatic ecosystems is more important than ever as water scarcity, eutrophication, drought, and increasing demand continue to cause depletion and degradation of water quality worldwide. Water pollution can lead to Harmful Algal Blooms, toxicity, nuisance and invasive aquatic weed growth, bad odors, and taste issues in drinking water reservoirs – among many other issues. These types of water quality challenges can lead to diminished property values and will undoubtedly have a negative effect on swimming, boating, fishing, wildlife watching, and overall enjoyment of nature.

Understanding the Cause of Water Quality Issues

In many areas, it’s common for water quality problems to shut down lakes and beaches throughout the summer, but few people are cognizant of why these problems occur and how significantly they can threaten our innate connection with the water. Assessing and addressing issues with water quality requires the experience and knowledge of experts who focus on optimizing all the benefits that balanced water can provide.

Preserving and enhancing water quality calls for successful proactive management with long-term results in mind. Lake and pond management is a science and taking all variables into account is the only way to address water quality issues at their root causes. Aquatic biologists pay close attention to detail and consider the entire aquatic ecosystem when collecting sound physical, chemical, and biological data.

Set A Management Baseline with Water Quality Assessments

Water quality assessments are a common starting point to uncover this important information and identify potential nutrient imbalances, pollutants, watershed inputs, algal populations, or other problems. With every visit to your waterbody, aquatic biologists can learn more from each new water sample.  This data creates a basis for management recommendations and informs the use of eco-friendly tools and advanced technologies.

Determining the Best Solutions for Your Waterbody

Depending on the challenges your waterbody faces, it may require a combination of solutions. Fountains and submersed aerators are excellent at increasing healthy dissolved oxygen levels in the water while circulating different areas of the water column. Likewise, new aeration solutions like side stream supersaturation are changing the game by making it possible to directly inject oxygen into the water to correct deficiencies, eliminate bottom muck, and potentially end reliance on herbicides.

Utilizing New Technologies

In the event that herbicides are required to achieve lasting aquatic weed control, advanced drone technology is now available to efficiently and precisely target affected areas. Drones also aid in surveillance, making it easier than ever to identify problems such as eroded shorelines, which can be rebuilt with innovative mesh technologies that integrate seamlessly into the landscape for lasting stabilization. These efforts are often paired with sediment removal strategies like hydro-raking and the application of nutrient management products that prevent future algae and aquatic weed growth. These steps can be further supported with the introduction of deep-rooted native vegetation, which form beneficial shoreline buffers that prevent undesirable nutrients and pollutants from entering the water.

Reach Your Goals with an Annual Management Program

These solutions provide immediate benefits, but they are not permanent. Lakes and ponds require year-round care for long-term success. An annual management program comprehensively supports aquatic ecosystems with many of these solutions and others that nurture waterbody health and functionality. When an annual plan is uniquely tailored to the individual characteristics of your waterbody, you can maximize the many physical, mental, and spiritual benefits of time spent in and around the water.

 

Tags:
We’re excited to give away a $10,000 shoreline makeover to help enhance one lucky winner’s waterbody! by SOLitude

We’re excited to give away a $10,000 shoreline makeover to help enhance one lucky winner’s waterbody! by SOLitude

  • Posted: Feb 12, 2022
  • By:
  • Comments: Comments Off on We’re excited to give away a $10,000 shoreline makeover to help enhance one lucky winner’s waterbody! by SOLitude

Win a $10,000

Extreme Shoreline Makeover

Is your eroded shoreline hindering the enjoyment of your waterbody? Enter to win a shoreline makeover and enhance your lake or pond.

We believe balanced, healthy waterbodies help create meaningful experiences on and around the water, but erosion damage creates dangerous shorelines that severely affect our ability to enjoy our lakes and ponds. That’s why we’re excited to give away a $10,000 shoreline makeover to help enhance one lucky winner’s waterbody!

HOW TO ENTER:

Click the button below and submit a photo(s) of your eroding shoreline along with a few sentences sharing why your waterbody deserves this $10,000 makeover.

Tags: ,

How to Manage Littoral Zones in Florida by SOLitude

How to Manage Littoral Zones in Florida by SOLitude

  • Posted: Jan 30, 2022
  • By:
  • Comments: Comments Off on How to Manage Littoral Zones in Florida by SOLitude

How to Manage Littoral Zones in Florida

Littoral Zones in Florida Waterbodies

Florida is famous for its beautiful wetlands, but these natural treasures are threatened by hundreds of different factors, from the composition of bottom sediments to features in the surrounding landscape. The space where these environments meet provides valuable insight about the health and diversity of an aquatic ecosystem. This unique area is called the littoral zone.

What Is a Littoral Zone?

The littoral zone is the down-sloping shelf of a pond or lake. This is the area that stretches from the high-water mark to the shore and into the area where sunlight penetrates through to the sediments at the bottom of a waterbody. Although the exact definition of littoral zone can change depending on the waterbody, it is generally considered the shallow area close to the shore in both saltwater and freshwater environments.

When healthy, the littoral zone looks like a miniature wetland. The beneficial plants that grow here often feature purple, white, yellow, or blue flowers that usually bloom all year long in Florida’s climates. These plants may include Golden Canna, Pickerelweed, Southern Blue Flag Iris, Fragrant Water Lily, and Florida Swamp-Lily.

Importance of a Littoral Zone

The littoral zone or littoral shelf supports a large number of native plants and aquatic life. Because Florida’s aquatic species are so diverse, some plants can survive partially or completely submerged while others do just fine floating on the water’s surface. Waterbodies that support a wide variety of native plant species tend to provide more nutrients to the native wildlife that are key to maintaining cover and habitat. In addition to supplying food to ponds and lake fish, local plants help maintain balanced levels of oxygen and other key elements.

Benefits of a Littoral Zone

In addition to protecting the health of lakes or ponds, the littoral zone can enhance the aesthetic appeal of any Florida waterbody. When filled with thriving plants and wildlife, a well-tended littoral zone adds value to the shoreline and even the surrounding property.

A littoral zone helps improve water quality by fostering beneficial species that consume the excess nutrients that contribute to nuisance algae and invasive aquatic weed growth. Additionally, when located near a flow structure, the littoral shelf helps filter out the minerals and nutrients in water before it leaves the lake or pond. This improved water quality has the added benefit of keeping mosquitos at bay and reducing foul odors exuding from the water.

Littoral shelves also help maintain the shoreline and prevent erosion. The native plant roots hold the soil and make the banks more stable and durable, which in turn helps reduce the need for extensive restoration or dredging projects in the future.

Littoral Zone Maintenance

Because the littoral zone transitions from dry land to the aquatic environment, it responds to natural and human influences and activities in the land ecosystem as well as the aquatic one. And because it is important for many industrial and recreational purposes, the littoral shelf is often drastically affected by human activities that amplify algal and weed growth, nutrient loading, overgrowth of invasive species as well as cause acidification and fluctuations in the water level. This underscores the importance of the littoral zone and littoral shelf maintenance for the health of lakes and ponds.

Establish A SOL Pro Plan for A Balanced, Healthy Waterbody

When properly established and managed, the littoral zone is less likely to require herbicide or algaecide applications. Recurring proactive management strategies such as nutrient remediation, biological bacteria applications, water quality testing, aeration, Oxygen Saturation Technology (OST), and other sustainable solutions can have a lasting positive impact in Florida’s delicate aquatic environments. A SOL Pro Annual Management program will help any property owner prolong the balance and beauty of their lake or pond’s littoral zone.

 

Tags: ,
Are Algal Blooms Harmful to Humans? by SOLitude

Are Algal Blooms Harmful to Humans? by SOLitude

  • Posted: Jan 26, 2022
  • By:
  • Comments: Comments Off on Are Algal Blooms Harmful to Humans? by SOLitude

Are Algal Blooms Harmful to Humans?

by SOLitude Lake Management

 

Are Lake & Pond Algal Blooms Harmful to Humans?

During the summer, we all look forward to recreational activities on local lakes and ponds; however, sometimes our plans are canceled due to unsightly, smelly, harmful algal blooms. Knowing a little about how HABs form can help us understand their health effects, ways to identify them, and strategies to prevent them.

How Do Harmful Algal Blooms Form in a Lake?

Algae are a natural feature in many aquatic ecosystems. Most lakes have some algae growth on a regular basis, especially during the warm summer months, but it is crucial to stay on top of the algae development since blooms can happen quickly – before you know it, there are ugly floating mats on the lake’s surface. Likewise, certain species like cyanobacteria (also referred to as blue-green algae) can create concerning conditions by releasing dangerous toxins into the water.

Here are some signs that a bloom may be harmful:

  • Visible pond scum on the lake’s surface
  • Various colors such as reddish-brown, blue-green, or pea soup color
  • Often looks like paint floating on the water

Toxicity of Blue-Green Algae

Each bloom’s toxicity can vary and it’s hard to predict how dangerous a bloom will be as its toxicity changes daily. If the lake on your property looks like it may be developing dangerous levels of algae growth, take immediate steps. Not all blooms are toxic, and the only way to be sure that a bloom may become toxic is through laboratory testing. However, it can take a few days to collect and test samples, and by then, it may be too late.

Why Do Lakes Have Algal Blooms?

Most often, harmful and toxic algal blooms occur because a lake or pond is not healthy. The lake may have an excess nutrient load due to the presence of too much phosphorus and nitrogen. When there are too many of these nutrients in the lake water, algae can overgrow or bloom.

A waterbody’s health can change year over year, depending on the weather and other factors in its surrounding environment. This is why a lake that was seemingly healthy suddenly experiences a bloom. This doesn’t necessarily mean the lake is destined for poor health, but it does indicate that there are imbalances that must be addressed.

Conditions that may change lake health and cause a harmful algal bloom include:

  • Changing weather and climate—longer dry spells can lead to more algal blooms.
  • Excess nutrients in sediment—nutrients are absorbed by the lake’s sediment but are sometimes released due to a variety of conditions that are difficult to predict
  • Development around a lake—if the lake or pond area is developed and the vegetation removed, there can be more pollution in the waterbody due to runoff
  • Water flow changes—if the water flow is no longer adequate, it may become stagnant and the temperature may rise, creating conditions that are favorable for algae blooms

What Are the Effects of Harmful Algal Blooms?

The toxins produced by harmful algal blooms can cause serious health impacts to pets, people, wildlife, and livestock. These health effects can range from skin irritation and rashes, gastrointestinal illnesses, neurological problems, and even death.

 

Strategies to Manage Harmful Algal Blooms

Once algae have overgrown enough to cause a large bloom, management can be challenging. Prevention is the best way to ensure harmful algal blooms don’t occur. Association boards and community managers can help prevent or minimize the risk of harmful algal blooms by taking the following steps:

  • Ensure there is plenty of water movement and dissolved oxygen by installing fountains and submersed aerators.
  • Pick up and properly dispose of pet waste, which is a common source of excess bacteria and nutrients.
  • Implement landscaping strategies such as xeriscaping that help improve groundwater filtration before the water enters the lake.
  • Replace manicured lawns or cement banking around the lake with native plants for additional filtration and shoreline stabilization. Allow native deep-rooted plants to grow close to the water’s edge.
  • Promptly remove grass clippings and leaves to prevent their decomposition in and around lakes and ponds.
  • Reduce nutrient-rich runoff by using phosphorus-free fertilizers and detergents.
  • Stock fish, such as triploid grass carp, that feed on algae and nuisance aquatic plants. Triploid grass carp are not legal in all states. Make sure to check your state regulations before stocking.

Maintaining Balanced Water Quality

To eliminate algae, the best course of action is to contact a freshwater management professional who can monitor and maintain balanced water quality and advise and apply appropriate management solutions. These professionals will ensure that the lake or pond’s water is clean and healthy and that the levels of algae remain at beneficial, manageable levels.

DOWNLOAD A FREE TOXIC ALGAE GUIDE

 

Tags: ,
Repair Erosion for a Healthier Waterbody by SOLitude

Repair Erosion for a Healthier Waterbody by SOLitude

  • Posted: Jan 21, 2022
  • By:
  • Comments: Comments Off on Repair Erosion for a Healthier Waterbody by SOLitude

Repair Erosion for a Healthier Waterbody

Shoreline erosion can be detrimental to the health of your waterbody as well as the safety and value of your property.

The Many Effects of Erosion on Florida Lakes

Most communities throughout Florida utilize lakes and ponds to enhance the aesthetics of homes and golf courses, as well as support recreational opportunities such as boating and fishing for residents. The majority of these waterbodies were man-made for practical and functional purposes, such as capturing stormwater to prevent flooding or storing water to use for irrigation. Unfortunately, natural erosion of the shoreline is inevitable. It is an issue that only gets worse over time and should be addressed immediately, followed by consistent monitoring.

Effects of Shoreline Erosion in Lakes

Shoreline erosion is a serious issue for waterbodies of all sizes and uses. It can degrade shoreline property, increase the risk of flooding, interfere with recreational opportunities, and threaten aesthetic appeal. In many cases, the deep cracks and gullies that appear can expose sprinkler systems, drainage pipes, and electrical cables, leading to costly repairs. Likewise, due to the effects of erosion, lakefront homeowners may find that their property decreases in size and value over time.

When slopes become too steep, the shoreline can also become unsafe for residents, children, pets, and recreationers. Steep slopes increase the risk of someone falling into the lake and being injured. The steepness of the slope can also make it hard for someone to get out of the lake when they fall in. This can pose a significant liability for HOAs, golf courses, commercial properties, and private homeowners.

What Causes Lake Shorelines to Erode

Erosion has many natural causes:

  • Changing water levels due to seasonal rains and other weather events
  • Strong winds that cause waves to pound into banks and reduce stability over time
  • Improper drainage systems that allow stormwater runoff to cause damage, especially when the shoreline is exposed due to low lake elevation

The presence of nuisance fish and wildlife such as invasive armored catfish and otters that burrow into banks and cause them to collapse

Erosion Caused by Humans

Although these causes are natural, human activities can also increase the rate of erosion:

  • Clear-cutting of beneficial buffers composed of native vegetation removes the natural erosion protection provided by complex root systems that hold soil in place
  • Gardening and lawn care can cause excess fertilizer and pesticides to enter a waterbody, disrupting its natural health and balance
  • When too much land is covered by pavement or asphalt, these hard surfaces can accelerate the stormwater that enters a lake or pond, rather than allowing natural absorption into the soil

 

How Lake Shoreline Erosion Can Be Prevented

Despite the best efforts of HOAs, golf course superintendents, and municipalities, all waterbodies will experience erosion to some degree. However, there are many strategies to control or mitigate erosion.

 

Native Plants

Planting deep-rooted grasses and flowering vegetation will help retain, hold and stabilize the soil. This ground cover also helps to deter nuisance and invasive species from entering the aquatic ecosystem. It is imperative to use native plants rather than exotic species that are known to damage the habitat that nurtures beneficial fish, birds, and other wildlife.

Bioengineered Shoreline Control

Bioengineered erosion control technology is an excellent tool to restore shorelines and mitigate future erosion. Knitted ShoreSOX® and DredgeSOX® repurpose eroded muck by anchoring it to the shoreline for lasting stability. SOX solutions integrate naturally into the landscape and can be planted directly with vegetation for further erosion protection.

Riprap and Root Trap

With riprap, rocks are placed over a filter blanket to keep the soil in place. Similar to riprap, root trap is achieved by covering the rocks with topsoil and installing native, deep-rooted plants that contain the sediment in place as they grow.

Bulkheads and Retaining Walls

Bulkheads and retaining walls can be effective at controlling the effects of erosion; however, if not installed correctly, they run the risk of falling into the water or eroding from underneath and becoming unsafe.

Erosion Control Blankets

Coir logs or fiber roll material can be installed to slow down the movement of the water or create a “pooling” effect that allows sediment to filter out. They can be made of natural or synthetic fibers or a blend of straw, coconut fiber, or polypropylene (plastic).

Contact Us to Protect Your Shoreline Against Erosion

Call us at 866-781-8904 or complete the form below to get connected with an aquatic management expert.

 

[AdSense-A]

Tags: , ,
A Guide to Healthy Lakes in 2022 & Beyond by SOLitude

A Guide to Healthy Lakes in 2022 & Beyond by SOLitude

  • Posted: Jan 06, 2022
  • By:
  • Comments: Comments Off on A Guide to Healthy Lakes in 2022 & Beyond by SOLitude

Lake Restoration: A Complete Guide to Maintaining Lake & Pond Health

At SOLitude Lake Management, we believe healthy, balanced waterbodies allow our clients to create meaningful experiences on and around their waterbody. We are dedicated to making water a more healthy and beautiful part of our world by utilizing sustainable management solutions and innovative technologies that improve water quality, enhance beauty, and preserve natural resources.

For many cities, lakes, ponds, and waterways are a major attraction and part of what makes living there so special. From the rivers to the beautiful lakes and ponds throughout communities and golf courses, water is central to everyday life. However, you may not have given much thought to what goes into maintaining all of these beautiful waterways.

Maintaining a lake is more complicated than you may realize. It requires ongoing water quality monitoring and management to help ensure the lake continues to thrive and that people can continue to enjoy it. Without regular management of your lake or pond, the waterway can become unusable.

Ongoing monitoring and maintenance is the key to maintaining a waterbody that meets your needs. This is why an annual management approach is so beneficial for any aquatic ecosystem. Learn more about year-round management and the benefits of a SOL Pro Annual Management Program. With regular professional oversight and care, you can enjoy your waterbody for years to come.

 

Complete the form, receive this informative guide

 

The Importance of Healthy, Balanced Waterbodies

Freshwater ecosystems serve many purposes. They support irrigation, stormwater collection, drinking water, water sports, and recreational fishing. Regardless of their function, management is necessary to support the biodiversity and environmental health of the waterway.

Water can also have a significant impact on property values. In housing developments, no one wants to smell or look at an unsightly, overgrown lake or pond. That’s why it is critical for HOAs and apartment complexes to adequately manage their waterways.

Lake restoration is an important process in which a wide range of management techniques are used to restore a lake to its original state or to a state that better supports the health and well-being of the aquatic system, including plants and animals. It’s important to understand why problems, which often manifest as algae, occur before preventative solutions can be implemented.

 

Understanding Algae and Cyanobacteria

The word “algae” often gets used informally as a catch-all term that can include a wide array of organisms that are not always closely related. Sometimes, when people refer to “algae,” they may actually be talking about cyanobacteria, also known as “blue-green algae” or “toxic algae.” It actually is not algae at all.

Cyanobacteria appear in several different forms. It can appear as hair-like filaments, slimy coatings on plants, or a green, soupy-looking substance suspended in the water column. Cyanobacteria can release toxins that can harm your waterway. The toxins are the cyanobacteria’s way of defending themselves against other competing organisms, but they can also harm fish, wildlife, pets, and humans.

Excessive runoff and pollution is a common source of this problem. This runoff can lead to nutrient loading that will eventually upset the balance of a waterway’s aquatic system. Grass clippings, pet waste, eroded sediment, and landscaping fertilizers all contribute to nutrient loading. Managing the conditions that contribute to nutrient loading is crucial to keeping the harmful cyanobacteria and nuisance algae in check.

 

Aeration

In both ponds and lakes, aeration systems are used to increase the oxygenation and circulation of the waterway. A pond aeration system can be in the form of a floating fountain or consist of submersed diffusers strategically located at the bottom throughout the waterbody. Aeration helps improve the overall health of the aquatic system by converting nutrients to forms that do not sustain organic growth. Likewise, if muck development is severe, new tools like Oxygen Saturation Technology (OST) can be used to target dissolved oxygen to the bottom sediments where it will remain and aid in the natural digestion.

 

Shoreline Management

Unhealthy shorelines are a large contributing factor to nutrient loading. In addition to releasing sediment, unstable and eroded shorelines can allow stormwater runoff to flow directly into the water, polluting the ecosystem. SOX Solutions is a knitted mesh material that can be used to physically reshape and anchor the shoreline for many years of stability. Planting native, deep-rooted vegetation around the

 

Nutrient Remediation

Lakes and ponds suffering from chronic nutrient loading may be excellent candidates for proven nutrient-locking technologies like Phoslock and Alum. These products can help inactivate excess nutrients, making them unavailable for fueling nuisance plants and algae. Phoslock, specifically, is a lanthanum-modified clay that rapidly binds and permanently removes free reactive phosphorus from the water column shortly after application. It is also effective in locking up the phosphorus in the bottom sediments. This helps return the pond to its naturally beautiful state.

 

Biological Treatments

Dead algae, along with other build-ups of sludge and bottom sediment, can occur in your waterway. This is a natural process, but poor management can expedite this build-up. Biological treatments (which are like a probiotic for your waterbody) introduce naturally occurring cultures into the water. They digest undesirable organic muck and help clear excess nutrients from the ecosystem. This process can also help raise the dissolved oxygen levels in the pond and help beneficial aquatic plants, fish, and animals thrive.

 

Mechanical Hydro-raking

Nutrient-rich muck and detritus can be removed physically with a hydro-rake, which is essentially a floating backhoe capable of removing up to 500 pounds of material in one scoop. These materials are then taken from the shoreline for off-site disposal. This process not only helps remove excess nutrients, but also helps restore lake and pond depth and volume – reducing flooding, cloudiness, and bad odors.

 

Herbicides and Algaecides

In urgent circumstances, herbicides and algaecides can be used to quickly eliminate nuisance algae and weeds. Lake and pond management professionals only use products that are registered with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and formulated to specifically target the undesirable growth in your waterbody. However, herbicides and algaecides should only be used as a last-resort option when it is too late for preventative action.

 

Grass Carp

Sterile triploid grass carp serve as a “biological control” option for nuisance aquatic vegetation. Triploid Grass Carp can help reduce the amount of pesticides required for the management of nuisance and invasive vegetation. Though EPA-registered aquatic herbicides play a key role in safe and responsible plant management, they should generally be viewed as a last resort option for stubborn infestations.

 

 

Tags:
Discover which solutions should be implemented to get the most value out of your lake and pond management plan.

Discover which solutions should be implemented to get the most value out of your lake and pond management plan.

  • Posted: Dec 02, 2021
  • By:
  • Comments: Comments Off on Discover which solutions should be implemented to get the most value out of your lake and pond management plan.

5 Tips to Enhance Your Management Plan

An annual management approach is recommended as the most impactful, sustainable, and—in the long run—cost-effective way to maintain your waterbody. A standard management plan typically includes visual site inspections, shoreline buffer management, and water quality testing, to name a few. Beyond these traditional management tools, there are a number of solutions that can help take your management plan to the next level and keep your waterbody healthy and beautiful for years to come.

hydro-raking-pond-muck-depth-restoration

Restore Depth & Volume, Experience Immediate Results with Hydro-Raking

Whether you already have an annual management program in place or you’re in the planning process, consider adding on a mechanical hydro-raking service. A hydro-rake is essentially a floating barge equipped with a backhoe attachment. It can remove up to 500 pounds for muck, detritus, and nuisance plants from the water in a single scoop.

The results are immediate – the restoration of depth and volume will prevent flooding during rainstorms and the removal of nutrient-polluted muck will eliminate a food source for undesirable plants and algae. Hydro-raking provides a modest “reset” of the waterbody, making the implementation of standard annual management services more impactful.

 

shoreline-erosion-restoration-sox

Preserving The Beauty & Safety of Your Shoreline

Shoreline erosion is a natural occurrence that’s caused by weather and wildlife, but it can also be expedited by overuse or neglect. Not only is shoreline deterioration unsightly, it can negatively impact the water quality, increase the risk of flooding, and endanger anyone who gets near the shoreline for swimming, fishing, mowing, or enjoyment of nature.

There are a few ways to strengthen a deteriorating shoreline. Beneficial vegetative buffers can be cultivated by introducing native, deep-rooted plants. As the root systems expand, they create a strong structure that contains soil naturally. In severe cases, SOX Solutions can be utilized. This innovative knitted mesh material is filled with loose sediment and strategically anchored for a seamless look. Property owners may choose to integrate sod or landscaping elements to enhance aesthetic appeal. These solutions can halt erosion and prevent poor water quality conditions for many years so that you can focus on proactive annual management strategies.

 

fish-stocking-community-pond

Stock Fish for Aquatic Weed & Mosquito Control

You may think that fish stocking is reserved for trophy ponds owned by passionate sports fishermen, but all ponds can benefit from the introduction of new fish species. These selections will be based on the challenges your waterbody faces.

For instance, lakes and ponds with invasive aquatic weed infestations may benefit from the introduction of triploid grass carp, which voraciously feed on undesirable plants. This is a fantastic alternative to herbicides in some regions. Lakes and ponds crippled by excessive mosquito populations can benefit from the introduction of small predators like minnows, guppies, and the aptly named mosquitofish as an alternative to larviciding. No matter your annual management goals, there is a fish that can help support them.

community-education-lake-pond-management (1)

Educate Yourself and the Community

It may not be a typical service, but education is as important as any other element of your annual management program. Without understanding the outside factors that impact the balance of your waterbody, it will be more difficult to maintain its health and beauty. Whether your waterbody is located in a homeowners community, a private property, or a municipal area, it’s crucial to keep others informed about their impact on the land around them:

  • Encourage residents to properly dispose of pet waste and trash
  • Keep surrounding land clear of grass clippings, twigs, and other debris
  • Allow native plants and grasses to grow, untrimmed, around the shoreline
  • Reduce use of lawn and garden fertilizers, or switch to organic products
  • Report the presence of suspected invasive plants and animals
  • Speak with an Aquatic Biologist before applying any products to the water

 

Achieve Your Dream Waterbody

Paired with standard solutions that we implement as part of a SOL Pro Plan, like nutrient management, fountain maintenance, and water quality testing, these extra steps will help prepare your waterbody with the long-term future in mind. Lake and pond management isn’t a sprint, it’s a marathon. A maintenance plan built on sustainable, proactive practices will help you achieve and maintain the waterbody of your dreams for years to come.

 

Tags:
We Are Thankful For YOU – We are grateful for our dedicated colleagues, vendor partners, and loyal clients who have a passion for preserving aquatic resources.

We Are Thankful For YOU – We are grateful for our dedicated colleagues, vendor partners, and loyal clients who have a passion for preserving aquatic resources.

  • Posted: Nov 24, 2021
  • By:
  • Comments: Comments Off on We Are Thankful For YOU – We are grateful for our dedicated colleagues, vendor partners, and loyal clients who have a passion for preserving aquatic resources.

We Are Thankful For YOU

We are grateful for our dedicated colleagues, vendor partners, and loyal clients who have a passion for preserving aquatic resources.

As Thanksgiving approaches, we’d like to thank you for your ongoing support. Because of you, we get to enhance and preserve lakes and ponds across the country while also making positive impacts in our local communities through The SOLution. We hope you have a safe and joyful Thanksgiving with your loved ones!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rjgdc8s7FFU&t=1s

Our offices will be closed on the following dates:

Thursday, Nov. 25 &
Friday, Nov. 26

Thanksgiving Holiday

Friday, Dec. 24 & Monday, Dec. 27

Christmas Holiday

Monday, Jan. 3

New Year’s Day (observed)

During this time, contact us here or leave a message at 888-480-LAKE (5253).
Tags: ,
Top Solutions & NEW Technologies for Aquatic Weed Management Webinar

Top Solutions & NEW Technologies for Aquatic Weed Management Webinar

  • Posted: Nov 04, 2021
  • By:
  • Comments: Comments Off on Top Solutions & NEW Technologies for Aquatic Weed Management Webinar

Top Solutions & NEW Technologies for Aquatic Weed Management Webinar

Aquatic Weed Management Webinar

Nuisance or invasive plants are one of the biggest issues lake and pond owners or managers face. When introduced into a non-native environment, invasive aquatic weeds can take over an ecosystem and even out-compete native beneficial plants. There are various types of invasive aquatic weeds and it’s important to know which species is terrorizing your waterbody so the best management approach can be determined.

Watch our free webinar recording to discover the top solutions and technologies for managing aquatic weeds. From drone technology and highly targeted herbicides to hydro-raking and mechanical harvesting, our aquatic weed experts discussed how to control and prevent the future growth of nuisance and invasive plants with these solutions. Watch to hear what our experts had to say during the Q&A.

Watch the recording today!

Tags: