Demonstration Design, Treatments and Evaluation

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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

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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.

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Goal of Alternative Management Demonstration

• Evaluate several alternative management practices
  to address algal development in basins and
  determine costs, acceptability and treatment
  efficacy.

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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
• No treatment

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Treatments(Aeration)

• Aeration
• Air compressor with micro-bubble 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.

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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

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Proposed Species
Duck Potato, (Sagittaria lancifolia)
Spike Rush (Eleocharis interstincta)
White Water-Lily (Nymphaea odorata)
Pickerelweed (Pontederia cordata)
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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.

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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.

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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.

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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

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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

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Lake Ranking Based on Number of Treatments in
2006-2008
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Lake Treatment Assignments

• Aeration
• 2, 4,11
• Littoral Planting
• 7, 9, 16
• Carp control / SAV
• 1, 8, 19
• Copper Treatment
• 5, 6,18

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Map of Treatment Assignments
Aeration
Carp Control / SAV
Littoral Shelf Planting
Copper Sulfate
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Expected Issues

• Alternative treatments will not be immediate
• Alternative treatments will not eliminate
  filamentous algae
• Homeowner education will be critical

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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.

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