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Landscape
Guide: Water Features
Introduction
| Water Characteristics
| Soil Management |
Irrigation | Turf
Grass | Water Features
| Plant List
Ponds and Fountains
The water in a pond or pool is just as full of activity
and as varied in its population and components as a soil sample. It is
not just a simple see-through medium but a living system, composed of
water, gases, dissolved mineral nutrients, plants and often animals.
Pools and ponds are aesthetically pleasing and often
difficult and expensive to manage. Improperly designed water features
frequently allow runoff from the surrounding landscape to contaminate
the water with nutrients from fertilizers and chemicals from herbicides.
The biggest problem facing landscape managers who are
responsible for water features is the potential for algae growth. This
growth cannot always be prevented, but careful attention to design and
management strategies can keep it under control.
Using nutrient-rich recycled water may offer more of
a challenge to maintain the water in a clear state. But there are several
techniques available to minimize algae growth. They include:
- Where practical, designing or reconfiguring to minimize exposure to
sunlight, shading will also reduce evaporation
- Using deep and narrow water features, which will not heat up as quickly
as shallow, wide features
- Providing adequate circulation and aeration and avoiding designing
areas where water will not circulate
- Using blue dye, which is effective because it absorbs light
- Increasing the frequency and quantities of applied chlorine
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