Lake & Waterway Management focuses on the practices and strategies that keep lakes, rivers, and wetlands healthy. Topics include lake health, ecosystem balance, climate change impacts, shoreline restoration, fish populations, and sustainable management techniques that protect water resources for the future.
Introduced aquatic weeds clog many of New Zealand’s waterways. It affects aquatic life and prohibits access and use for recreational users. Lakeweed Harvesters remove the aquatic plants mechanically, using a harvester mounted on a three metre by seven metre pontoon vessel. The operation works under strict standard operating procedures to ensure maximum weed is harvested
Floating weed harvesters have opened passages through Dane County Wisconsin’s dense tangles of underwater plants for about 50 years. The barges wield rotating cutting bars like those on farm combines to cut a submerged crop that is fertilized too well by runoff of nutrients like dairy manure. Each spring, the county launches a flotilla of
In the 1970’s a group of private property owners dammed the Middle Raccoon River to form Lake Panorama. When the river rises, either due to heavy rain or snow melt not only does the excess water drain into the lake, but so does the debris the rushing waters carry. The debris mostly consists of organic
In 2013, Lake Michigan lake levels bottomed out after a 15-year span of lows that was the longest in recorded history. Now, the high-water is sending the roughly 4.2 million people who live within two miles of the coast scrambling. 2019 which was the wettest on record in Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin, and precipitation was
High water levels leading to eroding shorelines have been front-page news in recent months. Shoreline erosion is a concern for property owners with homes located on a Great Lakes or an inland lake. While we can’t control how Mother Nature effects our water levels there are steps that property owners can do to minimize shoreline
The Azolla filiculoides fern— with leaves the size of gnats, is considered a wonder-plant that played a pivotal role in cooling our planet 50 million years ago. Among its many properties, the Azolla can capture CO2 and nitrogen from the air and has genes that provide insect resistance. Some 50 million years ago, however, the
Probably the single most helpful thing we can all do to help keep surface waters clean is the addition of a native vegetative buffer along the lakeshore. Buffers help filter out and trap pollutants like fertilizers, herbicides and pet waste before they reach the water. In addition, the deep roots from native buffer plants help
What would a great ad for a university of technology be? An ad, that itself, solves a problem through technology. This is exactly what the University of Engineering and Technology of Peru and their ad agency have done. They created the first billboard in the world to make drinking water out of thin air and
Wild rice is an annual aquatic grass that produces seed that is a delicious and nutritious source of food for wildlife and people. Harvested in the early autumn, wild rice was an immensely important commodity to Native Americans, particularly the Ojibwe and Menominee, who lived in the areas where it grew abundantly. The Menominee even
Yosemite Valley is a glacial valley in the Sierra Nevada, part of the Yosemite National Park, drawing close to 3.7 million visitors annually. The Hetch Hetchy Valley is virtually an identical twin to Yosemite Valley, but you will never see its stunning rock formations and dramatic waterfalls. With steep valley walls, a narrow outlet and