Some proponents of lake restoration methods are completely against physical solutions for water quality issues. Physical treatments include installing liners, dredging out sediment, cutting out invasive water plants, and grading the soil after draining the water. While these measures are labor intensive and do disturb the natural environment, they’re not without their benefits either. Less disturbing treatments like chemicals solutions don’t necessarily solve every problem common to lakes, making them limited in their efficacy for lake restoration. Find out why most restoration projects include both chemical and physical solutions in order to minimize disturbances while maximizing habitat improvements.
Sediment Treatment
Chemical treatments simply can’t remove sediment or lower their levels dramatically. Only physical efforts like dredging and sludge removal can permanently improve the sediment level in a lake. However, chemical treatments can work to stabilize loose layers of sediment that are being washed out of the waterway. Various metal particles coated in sticky substances have been trialed as stabilization treatments to keep sediment trapped at the bottom of a lake rather than mixing into the water. While the treatments can work for those limited purposes, they can’t be confused for the physical methods used to restore the storage capacity of the lake.
Algae Elimination
Treating algae is one part of lake restoration where chemical treatments do shine. Yet, trying to rely on chemicals alone will begin an endless cycle of constant treatment to stabilize the water quality. This is because algae blooms are rarely isolated incidents, occurring only because of conditions in the lake alone. They tend to begin far from the water and on land instead, anywhere soil is being fertilized or chemicals are applied over a solid surface. The runoff that enters the lake carries these nutrients along to the lake where they trigger algae blooms. Without physical methods like berm building and wetland creation to filter the nutrients out before they reach the lake water, chemical treatments to kill off algae are only a temporary solution.
Water Quality Improvement
When it comes to improving the quality of the water itself, chemical treatments are usually required. However, consider the cost of adding and blending in enough chemicals to make serious changes to parameters, like nitrate levels and pH, before assuming it’s the best choice. In many cases, it’s far more affordable to try a physical solution like dredging to remove nutrient rich sediment or flushing with the addition of fresh water from another source. Using these physical methods before attempting to treat the water and bring its quality up can result in more effective and affordable chemical applications. Don’t waste money on water treatments that are constantly being undone by other issues in the quality stream.
Invasive Plant and Animal Species
Invasive aquatic plants and animals are often assumed to be easy to chemically control when the opposite is actually true. Many chemicals, used as control measures for threats like zebra mussels and cattails, fail quickly or produce uneven results unless they’re applied in concentrations high enough to damage the rest of the environment. Physical removal methods like scraping, raking, and grinding may have a greater disturbance on the lake, but in the end, they tend to do a more thorough job of removing the problem. This results in less restoration needed over time, allowing a natural environment to establish itself faster than if constant rounds of chemicals were added year after year.
Seepage Control
Chemical restoration techniques can do little to nothing to control seepage. Seepage is a mechanical problem that occurs when a lake has no liner or has only a leaky liner. Cracks allow water to slowly squeeze out due to the weight of the lake pressing down, as do the gaps between exposed particles of soil. Seepage is a slow, but endless process, that gradually destabilizes the soil around the lake and can lead to bank collapses and dam losses years after lake restoration. If seepage control is necessary to keep the lake from losing water or threatening development around it, only physical solutions, like flexible liner materials will work. Chemicals marketed for sealing lake bottoms tend to work unevenly or not at all, making them too unreliable for large scale projects.
Habitat Restoration
Almost all attempts at habitat restoration will require physical changes to the lake. Chemicals simply don’t do much for building habitats beyond helping remove invasive plants or controlling algae blooms. When it’s necessary to add places for fish to hide or for birds to nest, physical improvements must be planned for the site. This means it’s often necessary to disturb the existing habitat somewhat to make it better in the long run. There are many ways to reduce the impact of habitat changes; including considerations during the liner installation process.
Physical parts of lake restoration can be intimidating, but they’re worth the effort to truly improve a lake that’s struggling. Make sure the installation of a new impermeable liner material is part of your physical plan for lake restoration. BTL Liners has the materials you need to get decades of reliable performance out of your new and improved waterway.
