A Quick Guide to Lake Management, Design installation and Maintenance

We are available for a range of Lake Management Services including consultancy, silt removal and much more.

If you have the space, creating a lake is a great way to add an amazing, wildlife-friendly feature to your property. Whether you simply have an extra-large garden area or some land nearby, a lake or large pond takes some planning and maintenance but the results are certainly worth it.

Maybe you’re a business and you want to create a lake for fishing or perhaps you’re a farmer and you want to diversify the natural landscape.

Some of the benefits of building a lake include:

• Creating a brilliant location to sit and relax.
• Building a wildlife haven that can be used to support a wide variety of fish, attracts waterfowl and a whole host of smaller animals from frogs to colourful dragonflies.
• Turning a space into a popular fishing spot that can even be used for activities such as boating.
• You might be surprised to learn that the UK has lost around 70% of its ponds and small lakes since the 19th century and the Government are currently focused on supporting individuals who want to create these natural spaces.

Design and Maintenance of Your Lake

The big challenge is designing and creating your lake in the first place.
One of the initial judgments you need to make is whether the location you have chosen has the right soil (areas with peat, sand or gravel can be difficult) and that it isn’t likely to be contaminated by nearby infrastructure such as roads.

The best locations are on low-lying land where exterior water sources will likely supply you with good quality water. Connecting your new lake to a nearby water source such as a river, however, is generally a mistake because in time it will cause a lot of silt build-up which will need to be cleared regularly.

Another thing you will need to check, of course, is whether you need planning permission or not and what rules and regulations there are in your area that you need to adhere to.

It’s a good idea to work with a team that understands all the elements that go into creating a new lake – they will help you with the planning and design and will give you a good idea of the costs involved before you start the digging.

The plants and fauna that are incorporated into your design are just as important as the location you choose.

If you’re intending to have fish, temperature and depth are going to be important, depending on the varieties you are going to encourage. For example, carp and tench are fairly hardy but they require areas with depths of between 1.5 and 2m at least where they can ‘hide’ during the winter months.

There’s no doubt that building your lake is only half the battle – you’ll need to put a maintenance regime in place that includes plant and silt control as well as making sure that you provide optimal conditions for any fish to thrive.

Lake Management Silt and Plant Control

With any lake, the build-up of silt can be a real problem over time. Leaves and other debris fall to the bed and can have serious consequences on the quality of the water. Over time, the plants such as submerged oxygenating plants or at the surface and lakeside will also need to be managed, cut back or encouraged to grow more.

Silt removal is normally carried out by specialist machinery and this can have an impact on the local wildlife that has developed– that’s why, again, it’s important to work with a team that understands when it’s the right time is to carry out silt control. There are treatments such as Siltex available that we can supply and dose that can have good results at breaking down silt and preventing it from building up.

Fish Health in Your Lake

Many people design a lake to create a fishing spot for customers. One of the biggest concerns here is maintaining the quality of the water all year round.

Keeping the water aerated and with enough oxygen can be achieved by natural and mechanical means, for example, putting plants on the surface of the water or having on-shore pumps that promote circulation below the surface.

Phyto filtration is a great way to get rid of impurities in your water and can, again, be achieved naturally with plant choice as well as through the introduction of natural bacteria to promote healthier environments.