Lake and pond restoration does not begin with the technology, but with the water body. We measure where and when oxygen is lacking, select the measure on that basis – up to and including aeration close to the bed with Nano-Bubbles – and verify its effect.
The restoration concept rests on a handful of samples. It remains an open question at what depth and in which weeks oxygen is actually lacking.
De-sludging, chemical precipitation, aeration: the quotations differ by orders of magnitude. Without knowing how oxygen develops over time, it is hard to justify which option will hold up.
After the measure, the baseline reading is missing. There is then no way to show the funding body or the public what has changed in the water body.
Water-body monitoring, water-body analysis, restoration planning, aeration close to the bed and impact verification all interlock: measure, analyse, act, verify the effect, adjust. Before the measure, measurement establishes when and where critical oxygen conditions arise. During operation, it shows how the water body responds – and output and run times can be adjusted accordingly.
Oxygen, temperature, pH, conductivity and other parameters across depth and time. This shows which zones and which weeks are critical.
Selection and sizing of the measure, for example aeration close to the bed with Nano-Bubbles in the zones where oxygen matters most in biological and chemical terms.
The measurement series continues and shows how the oxygen balance and water quality develop. That provides the basis of comparison for adjustment and for evidence.
Retention spaces hold water in the landscape for longer. If it stands for a long time at high temperatures, oxygen deficits can develop. Water retention and water-body ecology therefore have to be planned together.
Stratified lakes and shallow ponds with a high nutrient load: only measurement across depth shows at what point the deep water turns and which zone hypolimnetic aeration would actually have to reach.
Storage basins, firefighting ponds and park waters with little exchange. There, long residence times and warm summers quickly push readings into a range that is critical for fish and the food web.
70 m Nano-Bubble aeration line
A manageable water body as a test set-up for the entire sequence: measure, introduce oxygen close to the bed, observe the response, then adjust operation accordingly.
Nano-Bubbles are very small gas bubbles that behave differently from coarse air bubbles. They allow oxygen to be introduced in a targeted way close to the bed. The aim is not to inject as much air as possible, but to make sufficient oxygen available in the right places.
A measurement series that covers the critical period is advisable – in the case of oxygen deficits, usually the warm half of the year, when the water body is stratified. It shows the baseline condition and the range of variation, and later serves as the basis of comparison for verifying the effect.
A better oxygen supply can support the aerobic breakdown of organic matter and improve the conditions for the degradation of sapropel. How strongly and how quickly this happens depends on layer thickness, composition, temperature and nutrient input. We therefore track the measure with measurement data instead of committing to a degradation rate.
