The biggest misconception about pond or lake ownership is that it’s a permanent or zero maintenance part of the landscape. While ponds and lakes can be long-lasting, they are not permanent. All ponds and lakes will gradually fill with sediment, organic muck and plants. Some just take longer than others! Without some kind of intervention, they become shallower and hold less water until they finally turn in to a marsh or revert to their original state.
The gradual fill can come from many sources including sediment that is carried during storm water runoff; organic materials such as plants, leaves, and animal waste; construction and agriculture activities; sediment migration; and more.
Maintenance may come from many sources depending on your body of water and its characteristics. Intervention might include physical, biological, or chemical applications to control vegetation or to mitigate sediment accumulation. But pond maintenance is much more than just cleaning it up and making it look pretty. As a pond or lake owner, dredging can be an important step in controlling the buildup of sediment and muck. Here are five benefits of dredging your pond or lake.
1. Waterway maintenance:
Cleaning up your waterway may be the most important benefit that comes with dredging. By removing accumulated debris, such as vegetation, sediment or pollutants, dredging can restore the waterway to its original depth and condition, resulting in clearer and healthier water and restored water flow.
2. Reclamation and cleanup applications:
Pollutants can quickly become an issue especially in ponds or lakes located near urban areas. Dredging can clear contaminants caused by chemical spills, sewage accumulation, decayed vegetation and rainwater runoff, preventing an accumulation of pollutants and a cleaner, healthier waterway.
3. Increasing water depth and water holding capacity:
Built-up sediment at the bottom of ponds reduces water depth dramatically. Dredging clears the waterway of that sediment and restores the depth. Restoring water depth has many benefits in and of itself. Increased depth and lack of sediment make vegetation management easier and less expensive. Increased water holding capacity means there’s more available space for stormwater runoff, which decreased the risk of nearby flooding.
4. Environmental remediation and ecosystem maintenance:
Dredging is important in keeping a water body ecosystem healthy and functional. Dredging clears trash, sludge, dead plant life and other debris, while also reversing the effects of eutrophication, which is an unhealthy excess of nutrients in a body of water. This reversal helps to prevent an overabundance of plant life in the water, which causes oxygen deprivation for other flora and fauna. Dredging helps sustain a suitable environment for a healthy ecosystem to flourish in.
5. Aesthetics:
Water laden with muck and sediment buildup is often stagnant, unattractive, and foul-smelling. Dredging can help regain a clearer, healthier water habitat.
Ponds and lakes can be a great source of enjoyment and recreation while serving other purposes such as storm water catchments, irrigation and water sources, and more. Dredging can help restore and maintain the functional purpose of the water body while making it aesthetically pleasing for all to enjoy.
