As you know, the lake has really presented challenges this year. It is something we've dealt with in years past and I am sure will deal with again. Consider these facts:
Swan Lake is essentially made up of all (and I mean all) the runoff that comes from Main Street in Highlands. We accept everything from roads, ditches and storm sewers. This means anything that was on the road comes with it during those heavy rain events (oil, salt etc). It also accepts runoff off from the golf course all of the neighborhood surrounding the golf course.
Our treatment options are limited because we use the water for irrigation purposes. Anything I spray in the lake will ultimately be watered onto the golf course. That is a fine line that eliminates any copper based herbicides.
The lake is naturally shallow, allowing sunlight penetration all the way to the bottom. This encourages aquatic weed growth.
That lack of rain this summer has prevented the lake from "turning over" and flushing itself out. Stagnant water is always ideal for weed growth.
However, as I mentioned several times, I am studying to become a certified aquatics pesticide applicator; I already hold certification in turf and ornamentals. This will give me freedom to treat the pond whenever it is necessary. Our current pond management group does a nice job but are only scheduled to come once a month. When that is the case, it is difficult to be able to treat aggressively. There are certain chemicals that can be used but require an irrigation restriction up to 3 days. If the company shows up during a dry spell, they can't treat aggressively. By me having control over the process, this eliminates that because I can treat immediately following rain events in an aggressive fashion while we are not using the irrigation.
Finally, I am pricing aeration systems for the pond to install this winter. While this won't necessarily control weed growth, it will create healthier water.
Thanks so much for your patience and understanding while we dealt with your lake.
