New water features aren’t always designed as aquatic habitats, but they can still play an important role in protecting other existing ecosystems. Many ponds and trenches first built to protect more sensitive existing rivers or bays end up becoming rich habitats of their own as time goes by. Each new waterway and retention feature designed to control pollution and erosion issues contributes to the greater health of the entire larger ecosystem. Bodies of water can be connected and improve each other even when miles apart and separated by land because of the long-range effects of surface runoff. Don’t underestimate the value of adding one or more of these secondary water features to the area around a sensitive aquatic habitat undergoing restoration.
Retention Ponds
Retention ponds are one of the first lines of defense against any kind of pollution or erosion that could threaten the health of a sensitive waterway. They’re useful for capturing any runoff traveling over the surface of the soil just by being placed at strategic points along a watershed or drainage area. You’ll find them commonly built temporarily around new construction sites and permanently around mines and other areas where erosion risks are ongoing. Retention ponds should be lined since they can contain contamination from pesticides, fertilizer, spilled fuel, and practically anything else on the surface of the soil. Water that seeps through the soil could carry these contaminants away from the pond and into the larger water supply.
Stormwater Drainage Systems
Retention ponds are often one part of a larger stormwater drainage system. These ponds can be filled by a wider chain of street level drains that lead to sewers and canals that keep the water from reaching natural waterways like rivers, ponds, and creeks. As with the retention ponds themselves, the entire stormwater system should be lined to keep leaks and spills under control. Since stormwater systems often have to handle flooding levels of water during sudden storms, it’s essential to use durable liners that won’t collapse during peak demand. Without stormwater management, many natural wetlands and waterways end up absorbing more pollutants from the open streets and paved areas than they can handle. Lined ponds are a better place to direct this kind of runoff so it can’t cause water quality issues in a sensitive aquatic environment.
Water Treatment Lagoons
Industrial and manufacturing facilities that produce a steady supply of liquid waste can’t simply let that mixture escape into the surrounding environment. Depending on what’s being produced, the waste could deposit heavy metals, pH altering chemicals, or algae-feeding nutrients that lead to a fish die-off. Even the saline or acidic wastewater from food processing facilities can cause long-term effects to the environment. Waste treatment lagoons are better than just retention ponds for this kind of material. Installing the aeration and filtration equipment to process the water on site allows for safe release later into the nearby waterways without any negative effects on the ecosystem or habitat.
Spill Containment Basins
In addition to secure storage and treatment areas for direct wastewater produced during manufacturing, these facilities should install spill containment basins to ensure that accidents and damage don’t risk the environment either. A containment basin will be sized to hold a large volume of discharged liquid or water in case of an emergency. It must be lined, even if it’s constructed with concrete or other materials, to ensure that nothing can escape until the spill is pumped out. Spill containment measures can be as simple as raised embankments around a facility to turn the ground into a massive basin, but an impermeable liner should still be installed over the ground to ensure it’s actually capable of holding liquids for at least a few hours. Many large-scale spills can take days to weeks to completely clean up, so you’ll be glad for the reliability of a real liner in those cases thanks to the remediation savings.
Closed Dams
Closing down dams can improve and restore natural aquatic habitats, but the area where the dam was located is often destabilized after its removal. Installing a geomembrane over the surface is a good idea even when the dam area is not directly converted into the wetland or water feature itself. Allowing water to flow directly over soil exposed after a dam removal accelerates erosion and can lead to sediment problems in the new water feature. Lining a creek, stream, or river in the area where it flows through a removed dam zone can help stabilize just this section so it better feeds into natural and existing features.
Make the most of all water features built to support healthier aquatic habitats by lining them with impermeable geomembranes. BTL Liners has all the materials you need to build retention ponds, stormwater drainage systems, and more.
Conclusions
Aquatic habitats are fragile and easily impacted by a long list of negative influences. Yet, they’re also highly adaptable and surprisingly easy to recover when you use the right materials and methods. Not all aquatic habitats require lining, but many are at least indirectly supported by the use of impermeable geomembranes nearby. Make sure you’re using the right liner material for every aquatic habitat project by seeking advice from us here at BTL Liners.
