Stormwater Retention
•Brochure: Stormwater Pond Benefits
Storm water retention ponds are becoming common features in urban and new development areas for irrigation water, recreation, flood control, and overall watershed management. Relatively small, typically under about 25 acres (10 hectares), these basins are used to capture and store run off water drained from city streets and development complexes. These waters tend to be high in algal nutrients, organic matter, inorganic turbidity, and anything else that gets washed in. Because of high nutrient loading, these ponds frequently experience noxious and odorous blue-green algae blooms. The toxic nature of many blue-green algae also make them inedible for zooplankton and fish, so food chain dynamics is often poor in these ponds.
SolarBees have been installed in storm water ponds for the primary purpose of blue-green algae bloom control to prevent unsightly and smelly pond scum. The elimination of stagnation and noxious algal blooms via SolarBee circulation allows edible, non-blue-green algae to grow, and the grazing of these edible algae typically increases water clarity to double or triple compared with previous years. Correspondingly, there is improved dissolved oxygen distribution through the water column, as well as noticeable fisheries improvement with recruitment, vigor and lack of seasonal fish kills. There have also been reported a number of additional benefits with this upper water (epilimnetic) circulation, including mosquito inhibition due to reduced surface tension making it difficult for mosquito larvae to survive. Furthermore, there is strong empirical and scientific support that, even with improved water clarity, the growth and survival of several types of invasive aquatic weeds are negatively impacted by sediment oxidation promoted by the return flow back to the SolarBee. This same sediment oxidation also promotes organic muck reduction and near-shore sediment compaction. And finally, maintaining a healthier lake ecosystem through enhanced circulation powered only by the sun, and without having to poison the lake with toxic chemicals, can provide significant and sustainable economic benefits through chemical savings and energy savings.
Click Here To Download:•Brochure: Stormwater Pond Benefits