Ponds and Lakes are natural ecosystems. They can be young, medium ages or in an older or dying off stage.

Most ponds or lakes are in either the Oligotrophic, Mesotrophic, or Eutrophic stages.

Oligotrophic ponds or lakes are considered new or young in the stage of their ecosystem. Oligotrophic bodies have typically low concentrations of nutrients, such as nitrogen and phosphorus. They may have steep sloping shorelines and are usually deep, clear ponds or lakes. The bottom of the pond or lake may be sand, gravel, or rock. Since oligotrophic lakes have little nutrients in them, they do not produce an abundance of aquatic plants and algae.

Over time, things can enter a lake such as airborne contaminants, pollution from run off or rain, and things carried in by birds, fish and wildlife. These sediments and nutrients build up in any body of water. This can impact the age of the ecosystem.

Mesotrophic bodies of water are considered middle aged, geologically. Mesotrophic lakes or ponds have more nutrients and more plant or algae growth than oligotrophic lakes and ponds. Usually as a pond or lake ages from oligotrophic to mesotrophic, the sides of the pond begin to slope less and the bottom of the pond begins to fill in with organic material, debris, leaves, plant growth that has died off, etc. The lake or pond bottom that was once rock, sand, or gravel, now consists of mud on top of the rocks. Mesotrophic lakes have enough nutrients to produce plants and algae. Some of these can be helped with some type of treatment to slow down the aging process. Many natural processes slow down the growth or aging of lakes and ponds. Some of these may be wind, causing aeration and mixing, winter, which freezes the lake and slows down the process, or spring and fall turnover, which mixes the bottom nutrient layers. Rivers can be good or bad to lakes, depending upon what is in the incoming stream. They may add new sources of fresh water, but they also may contain runoff of excess nutrients, leaves, soil, debris, that quicken the aging of a lake or pond.

Eutrophic bodies of water are considered old or dying ponds or lakes. Eutrophic lakes and ponds are over loaded with carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus. This leads to an abundance of aquatic plant growth and algae. As the pond or lake continues to age, the sides may fill in with a buildup of soil and decaying plant matter and steep sides may gradually become gently sloping. The bottom of the pond will slowly fill with organic sediment, debris and mud. The overall depth of the pond or lake continually decreases and the water clarity continues to degrade. As the pond or lake fills in and the plants grow larger, the total open water area shrinks as well. If left alone, the pond or lake will eventually fill in completely, and become a swamp or wetland. Some dry up and fill in over extremely long periods of time if they are not fed by springs or rivers. Some existing lakes or ponds fall in the eutrophic category. Certain things can be done to help slow the aging process.

Changes in circulation, mixing, bioaugmentation, fish and wildlife introduction, and nutrient restrictions are all part of a lake management plan. Point source and non-point source contamination controls should be examined. Use of buffer zones, wetlands in partial areas around a lake if large enough, ornamental waterfalls, dry ponds, sand filtration, turbidity curtains, etc are all things that must be looked at in order to evaluate the entire lake and how each thing can make small contributions to an overall management plan.

Bioaugmentation is the process of adding specifically formulated bacteria to help speed up natural degradation of debris, leaves, dead plant and animal matter naturally. These bacteria can help slow down the Eutrophication process in a lake or pond.

Salton Sea Bioremediation Project

Algae

Salton Sea Algae

Salton Sea Diatoms

Salton Sea higher life forms