Ponds are living entities, which evolve and age. If left alone lakes gradually fill in and become swamps and then meadows. This is natural. This process can take thousands of years or just a few depending largely on the geomorphology of the lake and activities around the lake. People may think that they want a "natural" pond, but what they really want is to maintain the pond in a relatively young condition rather than letting it age and transform into a swamp. This is not different than what people try to achieve around their homes. Considerable time and money are spent maintaining gardens in a particular age or state rather than letting them evolve naturally to weeds and shrubs. Lakes also require knowledge and maintenance to assure their health and continued beauty.

Healthy ponds contain balanced communities of microorganisms, invertebrates, fishes and plants. If the populations of the communities become unbalanced the health and longevity of the lake can be detrimentally affected. For instance, algae and other aquatic plants produce cell mass from carbon dioxide by the process of photosynthesis. The death of these plants results in increasing deposits of carbon or sludge within the lake. Excessive plant growth usually results in rapid accumulation of sludge, filling in and aging of the lake and even in production of noxious odours and bad flavour in the fishes.

The well being of the biological communities are directly affected by the physico-chemical conditions within the lake. The oxygen and phosphorous levels, the depth and shape of the lake and the bottom substrate among other factors, which interact with the biological communities to influence overall lake health. This is what aquatic ecology is all about.

There are no miracle solutions, but there are many tools, which can be used by ecological engineers to restore and maintain lakes. Among these are aeration*, bioaugmentation (the seeding of water purifying organisms from bacteria to fishes, and invertebrates to plants), biofilters, chemicals which bind phosphorous or reduce algae or oxidize sludge or colour water, plant harvesting and dredging etc. Pond management requires monitoring of the physico-chemical and biological processes to decide which tools are appropriate and when they should be used.

*Aeration
Pond aeration is the best method to control water quality and algae. It is very important not to overlook aeration in small basins and in ponds which have a large organic load and that are typically mucky at the bottom. We strongly promote air diffusion at the bottom of the pond as the best form of aeration. Fountains and cascades are aesthetically pleasing and offer some surface aeration but we recommend bottom air diffusion as the most efficient way to improve and maintain good water quality.

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There are five principal steps to a successful pond health care maintenance or restoration program: