Algae Control

Your waterway should be an amenity! Excessive algae can be a nuisance: a sign of poor water quality, toxic to your health, and, when overly abundant, detrimental to the ecological balance of your waterway.

Nitrogen and phosphorus are nutrients that are natural parts of aquatic ecosystems. Nitrogen is also the most abundant element in the air we breathe. Nitrogen and phosphorus support the growth of algae and aquatic plants, which provide food and habitat for fish, shellfish and smaller organisms that live in water.

But when too much nitrogen and phosphorus enter the environment – usually from a wide range of human activities – the air and water can become polluted.

Too much nitrogen and phosphorus in the water causes algae to grow faster than ecosystems can handle. Significant increases in algae harm water quality, food resources and habitats, and decrease the oxygen that fish and other aquatic life need to survive. Large growths of algae are called algal blooms and they can severely reduce or eliminate oxygen in the water, leading to illnesses in fish and the death of large numbers of fish. Some algal blooms are harmful to humans because they produce elevated toxins, which can be released into the air as well as the water.

Our Approach

An integrated management plan is the best approach to control excessive algae growth within your waterway.

Cultural Control:  If excess nutrient pollution is deteriorating the health of the waterway, we’ll work to identify and remediate the source. What we mean here is that people do have the power to change their environment. Using slow release lawn fertilizers and blowing lawn clippings back into the lawn (where the clippings can break down and return the nutrients back to the lawn) are just two examples where every homeowner and business owner can have a direct impact on a receiving waterway’s health. Properly stenciled and marked storm drains also help to educate and stop pollution from being dumped down the drain and making its way into your waterway.

Biological Control is a great tactic that can readily improve the waterway’s water quality. Littoral and shoreline plantings work to absorb excess nutrients before they impact the water. Nutrient fixing bacteria can be added when conditions are right to digest excess nutrients and make them unavailable for algal growth.

Physical Control measures, such as physically adding dissolved oxygen to a waterway through aeration to promote nutrient fixing bacteria, or physically removing overgrowth, which would remove nutrients from the system should also be considered as management options.

Chemical Control using EPA-approved and State-registered algaecides can treat the excess algae and deter future growth. Our team is specially trained to property identify the types and kind of algae and licensed to apply the correct EPA-approved products for your waterway. Aside from algaecides, other chemical control options include applying treatments which bind, or deactivate, excess nutrients. Widely used in drinking water and wastewater treatment, this method applies a coagulant which attracts the impurities in the water and combines them into larger particles. Once these nutrients “bind-up”, they are no longer in a form which can feed the algae.

Comprehensive Solution

The best strategy is to utilize a combination of two or more of these methods. A long term, solution driven approach, is key to ensuring the most enjoyment of your waterway. When you trust us with your waterway management, we will take an integrated approach in finding a tailored solution for your waterway.