ENVIROKONSULT’s Lake and Pond Management Service is aimed at smaller to medium sized lakes and ponds at golf courses, home owners associations and larger urban impoundments or municipal waterfronts. For large dams and reservoirs (municipal and government), please refer to our Water Resource Management Service.
Any lake or pond needs routine maintenance to ensure it remains in pristine condition or else it will eventually require expensive renovations. ENVIROKONSULT™ has staff consisting of highly trained and licensed scientists and technicians, who is dedicated to providing a quality service to its clients. Maintaining service accounts for businesses, home owners associations, and golf courses, ENVIROKONSULT™ has treatment programmes to keep your lakes in optimum condition in even the warmest South African climates. We specialise in balancing the aquatic environment through the use of a variety of treatment options.
Our Clean Lakes Programme (CLP) is a scientifically designed urban lake management service which includes the following:
Lake design and construction consultation
A poorly designed water feature or lake can turn overnight into its owners worst nightmare. An assessment of the water quality of the water source to be impounded, as well as several environmental factors before initiating the construction phase, can save the future owner of a water body, a lot of problems. ENVIROKONSULT™ can assist you in the design of water bodies which will significantly reduce maintenance cost when in operation.
Water Quality Monitering
The basis of managing a water body is a good water quality monitoring programme. Many variables can be monitored to determine the condition or health of a pond or lake: pH, temperature-dissolved oxygen profile, conductivity (EC), Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), alkalinity, hardness, chlorophyll a, zooplankton, phytoplankton, nutrients and macro and micro elements. All these variables give our scientists a good indication regarding the health of your water body and what needs to be done to improve the conditions and restore a healthy balance in your aquatic ecosystem.
Water quality improvement
All water bodies go through a natural ageing process called eutrophication. This process is accelerated in developed catchments due to the loading of high plant nutrient concentrations (mainly phosphorus and nitrogen). Fortunately, there are remedies to restore water quality problems. Once the cause of the water quality problem is identified and characterized, a whole range of scientific engineering techniques are available for the restoration of the water body. Some if these techniques include: phosphorus precipitation inactivation, dilution flushing, artificial circulation, sediment oxidation, food web manipulation, bio-augmentation and odour control.
Aquatic Weed Control
When aquatic vegetation are left to grow unchecked, they can interfere with fishing and other recreation, lower dissolved oxygen levels, impair water flow, harm fish and other wild life (natural ecosystem) and create aesthetically unpleasant conditions in lakes. Warm weather, imported weed species and high nutrient levels all contribute to the undesireable conditions associated with aquatic weed proliferation. ENVIROKONSULT™ manage aquatic vegetation with various herbicidal (chemical) control, mechanical control, physical control and biological control techniques and are renowned for our Integrated Aquatic Vegetation Management Plans (IAVMP).
Algae Control
Algae give rise to enormous operational problems in irrigation canals and urban impoundments throughout Southern Africa. Blue-green bacteria (cyanobacteria) are potentially toxic to humans and lethal to livestock. Blue-green bacteria also produce aesthetically unpleasant odours and tastes, and impact negatively on shoreline property values of eutrophic (nutrient enriched) lakes. ENVIROKONSULT™ has developed a range of algal treatment techniques for small ponds as well as irrigation canals and large reservoirs.
Bio Augmentation
New exciting technology is now available where microbes occuring naturally in the environment is applied in concentrated formulas to restore the natural balance of an unhealthy water body. With ENVIROKONSULT™’s special formulated solutions of microbes (bacteria, fungi and yeasts), a natural ”green” approach can be followed in lake and pond restoration.
Water Clarification
You can often expect the water in a newly constructed lake or pond to be murky rather than clear. This muddy or silty condition is the result of suspended particles in the water phase. If left unattended, the water may take several months to clear. At ENVIROKONSULT™, we will lab-test your water to determine the appropriate method to be implemented to increase the clarity of the water body. The application of appropriate flocculants will result in a clear aesthetically pleasant impoundment. The resulting clarity will be seen within 24 hours.
Fish Removal and Stocking
A healthy and diverse fish population is important in creating an environmentally healthy and balanced aquatic ecosystem. ENVIROKONSULT™ can analyse your needs and provide an appropriate fish-stocking programme or remove unwanted fish from your water body.
Mosquito and biting insect control
Neglected ponds and impoundments can be a popular breading habitat for unwanted mosquitoes and black fly. We provide treatments targeting mosquitoes and other biting insects in the aquatic environment. All these pesticides or biocides are approved by the Registrar of Agricultural Remedies (Act 36 of 1947).
Whatever your specific circumstances, ENVIROKONSULT™’s staff of scientists and technicians, whom are trained and licensed in the use of specialised equipment, materials and application procedures, will design and implement an effective Lake Management Programme to suit any water bodies’ individual needs.