Lake and Pond Solutions, LLC

Understanding your resource is a critical component to overall lake and pond management. Lake and Pond Solutions LLC is experienced in many facets of environmental study including stormwater inspection, sediment surveys, water quality analysis, dissolved oxygen monitoring, plant surveys, and sonar mapping.

A pond with a balanced fish population and suitable structure can provide years of enjoyment and sustainability. However, proper planning and management are necessary to ensure fish species compliment each other and don’t become too numerous and stunted. There are many other advantages of a healthy and balanced fish population including reduced mosquito potential, a reduction in available nutrients, and of course, a sustainable food source.

Pond aeration is a key component to a healthy pond. These systems can prevent stagnation, reduce muck, and improve the overall ecosystem. Additionally, a property aerated pond can help to reduce algae production and prevent winter fish kills. Proper design, however, is essential as an undersized system or poor equipment can lead to issues including phosphorus resuspension, an increase in algae production, and even fish kills. It is therefore important to understand your pond’s dissolved oxygen levels and muck accumulation before adding pond aeration.

Pond fountains are an extremely popular way to provide immediate enhancement to any water feature. They create beautiful spray patterns while helping with surface aeration and oxygen. Pond fountains can also provide a soothing ambient sound that can help to drown out traffic sounds. There are many size, pattern, and lighting options now available to increase the aesthetic beauty of any lake or pond.

Pond management is a broad term that has many different facets that work in tandem to achieve common goals. There are many different types of ponds including private, stormwater, commercial, golf course, spring-fed, wildlife, recreational, and more. They all have different functions, designs, and owners with their own specific expectations and budgets. But with the multitude of techniques to manage a pond, how do you decide? That’s where a professional management company comes in!

We utilize an approach that relies on a combination of pond management techniques to achieve your goals. Integrated Pond Management (IPM) takes all appropriate options into consideration to manage the pond in a way that stays within budget while also focusing on long-term outcomes. Our biologists identify the issues, set action thresholds, provide control, and finally, focus on long-term sustainability and prevention.

An on-site consultation provides us the most valuable information in determining an appropriate management strategy. Our service for Wisconsin and N. Illinois customers includes a thorough investigation of the water body including dissolved oxygen and temperature readings, plant/algae identification, acreage measurement (using air photos, GPS, and laser range finders), depth assessment, and soft sediment accumulation. Recommendations are given on site and a management plan and proposal are sent out within the week. Lake and Pond Solutions, LLC staff will stay on site with the customer until all questions are answered!

Aquatic plant surveys are an important tool to highlight changes in an aquatic plant community including exotic species spread. For lakes that perform management (like mechanical harvesting and invasive control), Point Intercept (PI) surveys are required ever five years. Additionally, it is common to perform meander surveys each spring to record invasive species. These aren’t reserved just for lakes though. We can utilize randomized grids and meander surveys for assessing pond plant communities too.  Our staff are trained in Aquatic Plant Identification and Survey Methods and can also handle Aquatic Plant Management (APM) Plan updates.