Jones Lake Management services both the KPVA retention pond on the KPVA-owned parcel and the uphill pond formed within the respective drainage easements of Lots 59, 60, 63, & 64. Regular chemical treatments complement the oxygenation provided by the fountains.
During a visit to KPVillas, Jones Branch Manager Anthony B. and his colleague Alex shared the science of pond management. In conversation Alex said:
The natural period of time when oxygen levels are lowest are the AM half of the clock, starting at midnight and going until noon. Organisms in the pond like algae, phytoplankton, and plants that photosynthesize are putting oxygen in the water for you. But they only do that when the sun is shining.
When the sun goes down at night, those organisms turn to respiration, which is what you and I do. We take in oxygen and produce carbon dioxide. As soon as the sun goes down, everybody is sucking oxygen out of the water. It's at it's very lowest point just before the sun rises. As the sun rises, the oxygen level goes up, and about noon it's at its highest level. If you want to supplement oxygen with an aerator you'd start at midnight and go to noon.
There's nothing wrong with going 6 AM to 7 PM. The other aspect of a fountain is its aesthetics. Don't replace common sense with deciding when to turn it off and on. For the health of the pond, 24 hours is best, but if you run it during the day the whole AM is best.
...(When it rains) you're influencing a lot of water that's going to be mixing a lot; you're also adding more nutrients to the pond. Fertilizers, grass clippings, anything that's got phosphorous in it that ends up in the sewer system is ultimately going to flush into the pond. There is a product in bags that you can put into the culvert to filter out the phosphorous. That may not be a bad idea if you have a dedicated inlet like that.
The current contract KPVA has with Jones Lake Management states:
Algae and submerged aquatic weed treatment for Knollwood Park Villas. Program includes application of all registered aquatic algaecides and herbicides, as necessary to provide acceptable management of the algae and submerged weeds in client's two lakes. Assessments and/or applications will be made approximately
twice per month beginning in April through October.
In the same August 28 visit, the Jones team assessed the invasive yellow flag iris encroaching around the KPVA retention pond. Jones will propose an aquatic-safe herbicide and surfactant to eradicate the iris, which puts constant pressure on the pond.
In late summer all of the plant's energy is outbound to the the shoots, but in early fall it turns around and the plant pulls nutrients down into the roots, which is when the herbicide should be applied. Of course, there remains a seed bank that will require a couple years to deplete, and new introductions of the invasive plant are ongoing.
While Jones Lake Management tends to the water quality, the fountains themselves have been installed in the spring and removed in the fall by Gary Boyer of Boyer Irrigation.
