By Patrick Simmsgeiger, Founder of DWI
It takes only a single refreshing moment to fully appreciate the value of a beautiful lake, stream or pond; just one moment to enjoy the simple pleasure provoked by the beauty of a placid, well-maintained waterscape.
Any beautiful waterscape adds a uniquely, uplifting ambiance to its community. Lakes, streams, or ponds like the ones that exist in apartment communities, condominiums, and golf courses are built, filled, and sustained specifically for enjoyment and appreciation of the residents and clientele. The water features are designed to compliment the property, serving as an imbedded aesthetic element. The beautifully landscaped streams, cascading ponds, and capturing lakes have been planned with this precision to provide the most appealing vision to the community that surrounds them, and the people in it.
To the casual observer, it may appear that water features are self-maintained within their own ecosystems. However, the simplicity of their maintenance is not as straightforward as the simplicity of their beauty. Once a waterscape plan is implemented and the features become a living part of the property, the maintenance is crucial to sustaining the aesthetic integrity and appeal. Streams, ponds, and lakes are living, growing ecosystems that require regular maintenance. Without regular routine inspections the ecosystems begin to stray far enough and will ultimately experience epic ecological failure. With a basic understanding of a water feature’s ecosystem and biology, the root of any aquatic problem can be identified and a workable solution can be quickly and easily implemented by a waterscape professional.
The management of waterscapes requires some general knowledge regarding the biology of ecosystems; it is needed to understand the underlying forces behind stream, pond, and lake maintenance. Photosynthesis is the basic concept to be considered when performing maintenance on streams, ponds, or lakes. Green plants and algae use photosynthesis to convert nutrients into usable materials so they may grow, flower, and reproduce. Energy from sunlight drives the process of photosynthesis by using elements like nitrogen, carbon dioxide, phosphate and iron to create new plant growth and oxygen. All ecosystems operate best when there is a balance between the elements that go in to the system and the products released from the same system.
Balance is key to management. Understanding the photosynthetic process will provide the ability to gauge the natural fluctuation within an ecosystem – providing the ability to make predictions regarding the balance of any water feature. Waterscape maintenance is not by any means an overwhelming task. With the appropriate guidance and knowledge from a group of waterscape maintenance professionals, the task of maintaining visually pleasing water features is a simple series of procedures driven by understanding of basic biology. It is important to select a waterscape maintenance group that will successfully understand the biological needs associated with the maintenance of your specific water features.
An incorrect correlation is often made between the maintenance of natural aquatic ecosystems and the maintenance of swimming pools. These landscape-imbedded water features – streams, ponds, or lakes – become a united piece of the landscaping. They are not merely large swimming pools that can be maintained using a similar pool maintenance strategy. You cannot get by skimming the surface; there is much more to maintenance than just clearing the leaves. A biological understanding of the waterscapes and their ecological elements is necessary. When selecting your waterscape maintenance professional make certain that this issue is addressed; the maintenance of pool and spa features is very different from that of lakes, streams, or ponds.
Diversified Waterscapes, Inc. (DWI) is a group of dedicated professionals who deal with water features on a daily basis; they posses the knowledge of waterscape biology and the experience necessary to spot any potential problems and quickly provide logistical, effective solutions so that the aesthetic appeal of your waterscape continues to serve your community’s members beautifully. DWI will handle all the maintenance so that the waterscapes can continue serving their purpose of providing those simple moments of refreshing beauty to all who view and enjoy them.
