November 8, 2023
Pond Oxygenation Workshop: Learning Through Case Studies: There are many strategies to combat poor water quality that depend on the biology and nutrient inputs of each pond. In this workshop, experts addressed a specific technology, oxygenation, that aims to manage algae by adding oxygen to the water column. The workshop touched on the few examples where oxygen has been circulated in ponds on Cape Cod including Santuit Pond, Mashpee & Skinequit Pond, Harwich, but focused on Oxygen Saturation Technology (OST) that oxygenates the bottom water layer of ponds without water mixing. Data and lessons learned from lakes and ponds where OST has been implemented both locally (Sarah’s Pond, Orleans) and in California will be used to discuss the feasibility of OST to address poor water quality in Cape Cod’s freshwater ponds.
To fully illustrate the applied process of evaluating OST use, the workshop used Bourne Pond (freshwater pond in Falmouth) as a case study to understand if OST is appropriate to address the poor water quality observed in this pond.
Pond Oxygenation Workshop Agenda
Speaker & Panelist Bios
Fact Sheets:
Pond Oxygenation & Circulation
Cape Cod Fresh Water Initiative (Cape Cod Commission)
Barnstable County Ponds Profile (Cape Cod Commission)
Presentations:
Using scientific and integrative approaches to manage Cape Cod ponds
Tara Nye Lewis, Water Resources Analyst, Cape Cod Commission
A brief overview of circulation and oxygenation technologies
Dr. Ken Wagner, Manager and President, Water Resource Services, Inc.
Lessons learned using oxygen saturation technology beyond Cape Cod
Eli Kersh, President, LakeTech LLC, Dr. Paul Gantzer, President and Owner, Gantzer Water Resources Engineering, LLC
Introduction to Sarah’s Pond demonstration project
Judith Bruce, Orlean’s Pond Coalition
Sarah’s Pond ecology before and after OST implementation & post-implementation challenges
Dr. Ken Wagner, Manager and President, Water Resources, Inc. and Judith Bruce, Orlean’s Pond Coalition
The technical aspects of the oxygen saturation technology implemented
Dr. Paul Gantzer, President and Owner, Gantzer Water Resources Engineering, LLC
Lessons learned using circulation technology on Cape Cod
Ashley Fisher, Director of Natural Resources, Mashpee Department of Natural Resources
Historical water quality data and diadromous fish presence & stocking
Brad Chase, Senior Marine Fisheries Biologist, Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries
Cyanobacteria monitoring in Cape Cod Ponds & the status of cyanobacteria in Bourne Pond
Dr. Julie Hambrook Berkman, Pond and Cyanobacteria Program Manager, APCC
Overview of current water quality issues & OST as a potential solution
Eli Kersh, President, LakeTech LLC
Data and lessons learned from lakes and ponds where OST has been implemented both locally (Sarah’s Pond, Orleans) and in California will be used to discuss the feasibility of OST to address poor water quality in Cape Cod’s freshwater ponds…..
