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5 tips for healthy water
Follow these guidelines to improve the ecological health and aesthetics of ponds or lakes on your golf course.
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Purdue University’s Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex in West Lafayette, Ind., employed extensive water quality monitoring tests for its series of wetlands, but superintendents could use a less expensive pH control device to ensure the correct levels of |
Whether it’s to attract more birds with water features on a course, fix the lurking algal bloom eyesores on a pond’s surface, or maintain a more balanced pH in a lake, the steps to improving the health of a lake or pond can come in many forms and often result in unexpected benefits for superintendents.
Though improvements generally fall into one of two categories, ecological health or the aesthetics of a lake or pond, many times the two are codependent.
Get some air in there
Most experts in water management agree that aeration should be a top priority for superintendents wanting to achieve and maintain a healthy pond or lake on a golf course.
Stuart Cohen, Ph.D., president of Environmental & Turf Services Inc. in Wheaton, Md., says that the first step toward a healthy body of water is a no-brainer.
“You want to have a high dissolved oxygen content, and one of the best ways to do that is to have aeration,” Cohen says. “Either natural, built into it like a waterfall or water coming into a pond and not going out of the pond, or anaerator.”
With all the wetlands on the 36 holes of golf at Purdue University’s Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex in West Lafayette, Ind., continual water flow is crucial, says Jim Scott, the Class A GCSAA member who manages the two courses.
“If I ever do a pond, I always make sure I have the ability to pump some well water or irrigation water back into them,” Scott says. “Make sure you have a continual water source coming into it, whether it’s something you’ve established or something like a spring, to keep it circulating. Fountains are great, but if the water temperature goes up, that doesn’t really regulate to help cool them off, but it still aerates the pond, which is great. You just can’t have a stagnant pond.”
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Jim Scott, the Class A superintendent at Purdue’s Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex, says certain wetlands plants purify the water of chemicals. |
Scott adds that a stagnant lake or pond could mean rising temperatures, which could result in algae problems and a lack of oxygen that could lead to dead fish.
Superintendents could also risk potential revenue to the course if foul odors or excessive algae accompany a stagnant pond on a course, says Angela Hopko, marketing manager for Otterbine Barebo Inc., a company that provides aerification systems.
“We typically don’t want to play on a course that has disgusting smells or algae, or the ball lands on a pond and doesn’t sink,” Hopko says.
She adds that if a course uses its pond water to irrigate greens, the health of the water is especially important, and a course can spend thousands replacing greens that have been irrigated with bad water.
“In the long run, (aeration) is more cost-effective versus someone coming in and doing chemical treatments every two weeks or so,” Hopko says. “Aeration is a long-term solution because it naturally promotes the aerobic digestion of the waste.”
She adds that the best time of day to run aeration systems is at night when plants become oxygen consumers in the process of photosynthesis and produce carbon dioxide, hindering aerobic bacteria digestion of excess nutrients.
Minimize phosphorus
Diminishing the amount of phosphorus that runs into a lake or pond can lead to a healthier water environment.
One way to accomplish this is with a buffer, says Erwin McKone, CGCS, director of golf operations at Briar Ridge Country Club in Schererville, Ind.
“We’ve always talked about buffers being vegetation where you can put a buffer to act as a filter,” he says. “It’s very beneficial.”
To further minimize the introduction of contaminants and pollutants into a lake, Cohen of Environmental & Turf Services suggests using an extended detention basin or a functional wetland to serve as a filter for runoff, “instead of having direct discharge from tees, greens and fairways right into the pond,” he says. “(If) the runoff discharge could go through that before the pond, it greatly minimizes the possibility of pesticides, fertilizers and chemicals (in the lake).”
McKone agrees, particularly for superintendents dealing with effluent water.
“What they really need to do is construct a big filter where effluent travels through vegetated swales that have certain consistencies of sand and bedrock and plant materials, so all those chemicals are filtered out,” McKone says. “Otherwise it creates algae blooms.”
When vegetation as a buffer zone is not possible, McKone suggests alternatives and says to make sure the staff understands the importance of keeping fertilizer out.
“To keep fertilizer out, maybe use a hand spreader to apply fertilizer within 30 feet of a pond, or use foliar applications in those areas so that you’re not fertilizing to the pond,” McKone says. “Managing those areas a little differently, or training staff how important it is to not throw anything in there.”
Cohen adds that superintendents should be extra careful about phosphorus runoff during the establishment stage, when many turf managers may use higher quantities of high-peat fertilizers.
Control pH
Making sure the right pH level exists in your body of water on a golf course can also lead to its improved health through minimized algae buildup and odor. The right balance of acidity and alkalinity is necessary, says Cohen, who adds that superintendents need not spend hundreds on a portable instrument to monitor pH.
“When we do pH monitoring, field monitoring, our work is scrutinized by the government, it’s hundreds of dollars, it’s precisely calibrated, (but) superintendents don’t need that level of precision,” Cohen says. “Any kind of pH meter that can be standardized with a buffer, plus or minus one-tenth of a pH unit, that’s all the precision (the superintendent) needs.” The cost of pH monitoring tools with this buffer drops precipitously from the ones Cohen routinely uses, he adds.
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A highly diverse collection of vegetation around a pond can attract birds and other wildlife to a course. |
Promote biodiversity
While the first three steps relate more to the aesthetic qualities of a golf course pond, such as minimized algae and odor, the fourth step toward a healthy body of water focuses on the water’s promotion of the ecosystem and ecological health, but also in turn can provide more aesthetic benefits.
A natural vegetative feature for storm water runoff, for instance, is aesthetically pleasing and could also attract more bird species, Cohen says.
“It’s always nice if you’re golfing to see a red-tailed hawk, or something you don’t normally see,” he says.
Many superintendents and environmentalists involved in golf suggest a wide variety of plants and vegetation in addition to wildlife.
To create a lake that’s a productive part of the ecosystem, Cohen suggests filling one side of it with emergent vegetation and plants that like to have their roots in water and their tops stretched to the surface.
Place that type of vegetative shelf on one side of the pond, and then “have another side of the pond with some trees, and that could attract certain kinds of birds… and also have an understory of shrubs,” Cohen says.
Aeration also comes into play here because the lower the dissolved oxygen content in a body of water, the fewer types of organisms will thrive there, Cohen adds.
Superintendents who consider geese a nuisance may want to consider planting trees, shrubs and other types of vegetation around a body of water because Cohen says this may actually deter the birds.
“Geese like to have a pond that’s wide open so they can see predators coming,” Cohen says. “(If) a pond is surrounded by vegetation, geese might get less of a fuzzy feeling about hanging out there.”
Scott at Purdue’s golf complex says the variety of plant life in his wetlands actually purifies the water and adds to the beauty of the landscape.
“We have wetlands plants specifically targeted to filter water, to take out impurities in the water, that were designed into that system,” Scott says. He describes his variety of plants as the basics, including waterlilies, sweet flag and bulrush.
Knowledge is power
McKone of Briar Ridge CC says understanding the biology of a lake or pond on a golf property is important to setting realistic expectations.
“Understand a little more about the biology of these bodies of water so that you … know what goes on in there,” he says. “Know when they get stratified, know how algae thrives, know how those bodies of water interact.”
Monitor the water and know what’s in it, McKone adds. “If we know what our nutrient status is and are watching that and we say, ‘We’ve got an influx of nitrogen from somewhere,’ now we know that we have to look and say, ‘We’re actually loading these ponds with nutrients, is there something going on that I can prevent?’”
Know the regulations in your state and what nonnative organisms are allowed by law, suggests Cohen.
Furthermore, he says, the purposes of and need for aquatic landscaping and health may differ according to region. Cohen recommended the construction of a series of ponds for a golf course in the Southwest to serve as a refuge for birds whose migratory paths stretch from Canada to Central America. A superintendent in the Northeast may want to attract more amphibians to a golf course pond, which can quell mosquito problems, he says.
Education also can equip superintendents with the know-
ledge to resist unrealistic demands from golfers and employers, says McKone.
“You might find golfers that want a weed-free, algae-free body of water that sits next to a highly maintained turfgrass that receives regular fertilization applications, is shallow and receives all kinds of sunlight,” he says. “Is asking that system to be algae-free realistic? Probably not. If superintendents are being pressured to produce certain conditions, I really want (them) to have the ammunition to say, ‘You’re not being realistic. This is why this pond would never be algae-free long-term.’”
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U.S. Aqua Vac Inc. uses a nontraditional method to remove muck and sludge from a golf course pond. It also uses barges and robotic devices. Photo courtesy of U.S. Aqua Vac Inc. |
A simpler fix
If a five-step program aimed at improving the health of a golf course pond sounds daunting or simply out of reach, a host of other options are available to superintendents.
Northwest Environmental Specialties offers a product that sales manager Dan Anderson says is guaranteed to reduce mud and sludge in a body of water by 20 to 50 percent within the first year of use.
As a wholesale manufacturer for SHAC Environmental, Anderson’s company provides a liquid carbon formula based on organic material that binds to suspended solids at the top of the lake and sinks the resulting mass to the bottom, where the formula then activates any anaerobic bacteria such as fertilizer, phosphates and pesticides, Anderson says. Those microbial colonies are stimulated to eat the carbon product plus everything attached to it and begin a consistent and gradual reduction of organic mass, he adds.
Ideal for stagnant or semi-stagnant lakes or ponds, the safe, nontoxic product starts working upon contact and lasts for eight to 12 weeks, Anderson says, adding that it also reduces odor and algae development.
He recommends applications every eight weeks for the first year from late winter to late summer. Bodies of water from 5,000 gallons up to 100 acres are suited for this treatment.
For more information, contact Northwest Environmental Specialties, (www.northwestenvironmentalspecialties.com).
After attempts to eradicate algae and other vegetation are made, available nutrients and sunlight make a golf course pond ripe for duckweed and watermeal growth, says Mark Mongin, sales and marketing manager for SePro’s consumer sales business. To counter this weedy result, the company offers its Sonar aquatic herbicide, which Mongin says is environmentally friendly and has no swimming, fishing or drinking water restrictions on its label.
Sonar works to prevent these two floating aquatic plants, or what some people might describe as scum, from becoming dominant in a body of water, he says.
“It’s so much easier to treat a small infestation of unwanted aquatic plants than deal with a large one, so be proactive,” Mongin recommends. “Sonar can be applied to a pond early in the season, as the product has an excellent residual, so you can control these two pests when they are young (just germinating) before they become a big problem.”
Mongin adds that applications of Sonar should be made in April, May and June because in the spring, many superintendents irrigate with water stored in wells as opposed to pond water. Since Sonar-treated pond water shouldn’t be used to irrigate greens, the early spring treatment timing won’t conflict with well irrigations in the spring, he says.
For more information, contact SePro, (www.sepro.com).
Installing an aerator in a pond or lake can be a one-time solution for a variety of issues. Otterbine Barebo Inc. offers three types of aeration systems designed for bodies of water on golf courses. A surface aerator involves a fountain display that floats in the water to create circulation and provide an aesthetic quality, says Angela Hopko, the company’s marketing manager. They’re often used for water hazards on courses, she adds.
Superintendents wanting to retain a natural quality with a calm body of water may opt for a subsurface unit, Hopko says. This unit is a motor turned sideways to create circulation flow. They’re used frequently for canals, odd-shaped ponds with fingerlings and areas susceptible to algae problems, she adds.
Finally, a diffused-air system is similar to what you’d see in a fish tank, and it works best in bodies of water with depths from 10 to 40 feet.
Regardless of the type of method used, aeration will aid chemical digestion in a pond, Hopko says.
“The more you aerate it, the better the water is, and it’s going to help digest the harmful chemicals from fertilization,” she says.
For more information, contact Otterbine Barebo Inc., (www.otterbine.com).
Looking for a nontraditional way to get rid of pond muck and sludge? Consider U.S. Aqua Vac Inc., a company that employs scuba divers, robotic machines and other unorthodox means to get rid of unwanted vegetation in ponds, lakes, marinas and channels.
The company says it can clean a pond or lake while maintaining a low profile, minimizing disruptions to golfers. The company’s muck-removal services are more effective and less expensive than draining or digging up ponds for cleanings, and customers can save up to 75 percent using this method over the drain-and-dig procedure, the company says. Each method is said to remove from 150,000 to 400,000 gallons of muck and sludge a day.
Other benefits of this service include clearing clogged intake pipes, unplugging water springs, improving water quality, reducing odors around bodies of water and preventing the death of fish from ammonia and bacteria.
U.S. Aqua Vac Inc. recently expanded its removal services so they are available nationwide.
For more information, contact U.S. Aqua Vac Inc., (www.usaquavac.com)
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