Principles of Lake Health Management
	How Aquatech works with you' "Lakes are living entities, which evolve and age. If left alone lakes gradually fill in and become swamps and then meadows. This is natural. This process can take thousands of years or just a few depending largely on the geomorphology of the lake and activities around the lake. People may think that they want a "natural" lake, but what they really want is to maintain the lake in a relatively young condition rather than letting it age and transform into a swamp. This is not different than what people try to achieve around their homes. Considerable time and money are spent maintaining gardens in a particular age of trophic state rather than letting them evolve naturally to weeds and shrubs. Lakes also require knowledge and maintenance to assure their health and continued beauty."    Quotation from, "Principles of Lake Health Management" by Karl F.     Ehrlich, Ph.D. & Marie-Claude Cantin, Ph.D.  There are five principal steps to a successful lake health care maintenance or restoration program: Definition of the treatment goals, what exactly is desired and what is possible – e.g., clearer water, control of algae and/or rooted aquatic plants, odour control, a refuge for water fowl, swimming, supply of irrigation water. Some of these goals may conflict with others. It is important for users of the lake to understand clearly what is possible and realistic and what is not. Definition of physico-chemical and biological realities – Parameters such as shape and depth of the lake, water and chemical inputs and losses, physico-chemical composition of the water and biological populations, within the lake, are critical factors to be integrated in a management plan. The health of the lake cannot be assured without considering the surrounding drainage basin with respect to run off, choice of fertilizers and fertilizing practices etc. Considerable data may already exist. If not, this data will have to be collected so that an intelligent management program can be planned to achieve the targeted goals. Development of the management program for the lake – This is based upon integration of the treatment goals (Step 1), knowledge of the lake (Step 2) and legal realities. Implementation of the management program - This includes a treatment plan as well as regular health monitoring. It is not possible to prescribe a single treatment protocol for all eventualities for a living community for all time. A sound lake health care maintenance program must be able to be adjusted with seasons, age or accidents. This approach is no different than what we do when we go to a doctor or a dentist. Examinations are obviously required to optimize treatments. Feedback and interaction between the lake health care team and users association – In the case of management of lakes it is essential to maintain regular communication with the users associations for feed back on the program as well as possible changes in the treatment goals (Step 1).