Demonstration Design,
Treatments and Evaluation
Mark Clark
Wetlands and Water Quality Extension Specialist
Partnership for Water, Agricultural and Community Sustainability at
Hastings
Soil and Water Science Department, Gainesville
Overview
• Nutrient loading from the landscape is the
source of the algae problem.
• Goal of alternative stormwater pond
management is to maintain regulatory
function while maintaining aesthetics and
use.
• Copper sulfate is very effective at algal
control due to its toxicity, but there is
concern over cumulative heavy metal
additions to water body and its possible
negative effect on contaminant removal
function of basin.
Goal of Alternative Management
Demonstration
• Evaluate several alternative
management practices to address algal
development in basins and determine
costs, acceptability and treatment
efficacy.
Demonstration Study Design
• Apply four different treatments to
stormwater basins within the Grand
Haven community.
– Aeration
– Littoral Shelf Planting
– Submerged Aquatic Vegetation (reduce or
eliminate grass carp)
– Copper Sulfate
X
– No treatment
Treatments
(Aeration)
• Aeration
– Air compressor with microbubble diffusers.
– Location within pond and
number of aerators per
pond is critical and
dependant on pond
bathymetry and depth
– Could change selected
ponds to minimize cost and
take advantage of existing
infrastructure if cost are
beyond budget estimates.
Treatments
(Littoral Shelf Planting)
• Littoral shelves will be planted to a
maximum depth of 4 feet with at
least four different vegetative
species
• Species selection can be modified
by CDD if desired.
• Proposed species
–
–
–
–
Duck Potato
Pickerelweed
Spike Rush
White Water-Lily
• Need to assess carp population in
lakes selected for this treatment
Proposed Species
Duck Potato, (Sagittaria lancifolia)
Spike Rush (Eleocharis interstincta)
Pickerelweed (Pontederia cordata)
White Water-Lily (Nymphaea odorata)
Treatment
(Submerged Aquatic Vegetation)
• Presence of SAV competes with algae
for nutrients, reduces light, provides
aquatic habitat.
• Selected ponds for this treatment will
be evaluated for the extent of carp
present and may need to be modified if
Carp grazing can not be reduced to
allow of increased SAV.
Existing Treatment
(Copper Sulfate)
• Copper Sulfate will be applied on an
“as needed basis” consistent with
existing protocols.
• Treatments will be documented and
amount of Copper Sulfate applied will
be recorded.
Treatment Management
• Need to discuss treatments with
Aquatic Management Company
• Need to make all parties in
management chain aware of
demonstration study objectives.
• Need to make community and
especially members living around
treatment lakes aware of study goals
and objectives.
What will be Evaluated
– Cost
• Initial
• operational/maintenance
– Algal cover (biweekly)
• Aesthetic acceptance (homeowners)
• Quantitative measure (photo documentation)
– Water quality (biweekly)
• TSS, TN, TP
• Water column sample just beyond littoral shelf
– Ecological condition (monthly)
• Aquatic fauna – visual inspection
• Dip net – visual inspection
Treatment Selection Protocol
• Many criteria evaluated
• “Symptom” criteria selected
– Lakes were ranked based on number of
Copper Sulfate treatments in 2006-2008
– Treatments were randomly assigned to
top 12 lakes
Lake Ranking Based on Number
of Treatments in 2006-2008
Number of Copper SulfateTreatments
60
50
40
30
20
Pond Number
27
12
31
21
30
28
15
26
14
22
20
13
29
23
25
17
24
10
3
16
7
1
8
9
5
2
4
11
18
6
0
19
10
Lake Treatment Assignments
• Aeration
– 2, 4,11
• Littoral Planting
– 7, 9, 16
• Carp control / SAV
– 1, 8, 19
• Copper Treatment
– 5, 6,18
Map of Treatment Assignments
Aeration
Carp Control / SAV
Littoral Shelf Planting
Copper Sulfate
Expected Issues
• Alternative treatments will not be
immediate
• Alternative treatments will not eliminate
filamentous algae
• Homeowner education will be critical
Next Steps
• Work with vendors to determine cost
– Equipment
– Wiring
– Plant material
• Coordinate with Lake Management Co.
• Educate homeowners on treatment lakes
and “aesthetic” acceptance evaluation
• Set planting dates and organize volunteers
• Initiate water quality monitoring, algal photo
stations and ecological function monitoring.
16
17
18
18
19