Our long-awaited kiwi summer temperatures bring a unique set of challenges for lake and pond owners throughout NZ. Diligent care and a good dose of common sense can go a long way towards keeping our
Read more
Hydrogen Sulphide (H2S) in wastewater networks is present to some extent in almost every region in New Zealand. High levels of H2S can also be commonplace, posing several serious challenges to asset o
Read more
Boat docks and marinas often face challenges like algae growth, weed accumulation, and floating debris. These issues not only affect the aesthetics of the water but can also have negative impacts on t
Read more
Over the past two decades, Marlborough's wine industry has experienced significant expansion, with the region producing approximately 268 million litres of wine in 2022. Remarkably, for every litre of
Read more
Just as we breathe to survive, aquatic organisms rely on dissolved oxygen in water for their survival and well-being. The oxygen levels within a lake have a profound impact on everything from nutrient
Read more
As winter fades and spring arrives, the challenge of pesky pond algae resurfaces. Keeping your pond healthy year-round and using nature-friendly methods to restore balance is the best way to greatly r
Read more
Three filamentous organisms can cause activated sludge foaming: Nocardia and Microthrix parvicella (commonly) and type 1863 (rarely).
Nocardial foam occurs as a thick, stable, brown foam or "scum" in
Read more
When applied correctly bioaugmentation heavily benefits wastewater systems, and the addition of micronutrients adds to this performance.
Read more
Fruit and vegetable processing plants generate large volumes of acidic wastewater that cannot be discharged without pretreatment.
The acidic waste from a fruit processing plant in the Pacific Northwe
Read more
As cold temperatures close in, we get more and more samples coming in requesting treatment for M. parvicella foaming. But why does this filament seem to thrive in the winter?Microthrix parvicella is a
Read more
For every gram of grease wastewater plants receive, a good percentage is made of hard-to-degrade long-chain fatty acids. To understand why long-chain fatty acid degradation is so tough, we must look a
Read more
Nitrate is a sneaky molecule that is difficult to remove and can migrate quickly into groundwater. This leads to concerns for elevated nutrients in waterways and can compromise drinking water. Wastewa
Read more
Does your lagoon system or wastewater treatment plant suffer from midge fly outbreaks? Midge flies, or chironomids, which resemble mosquitoes but don’t bite, commonly occur in wastewater treatment and
Read more
Filaments can cause all sorts of headaches for wastewater operators such as foaming and bulking. These problems can lead to violations in wastewater limits and less efficient treatment. Bulking...
Read more
Magnesium Hydroxide: Environmentally-Friendly and Cost-Effective Treatment for Odour and Corrosion in Sewer Lines
Read more
Healthy, functional lakes and ponds require oxygen. Unfortunately, organic build-up that naturally occurs over time reduces a waterbody’s ability to maintain adequate oxygen levels. Waterbodies with p
Read more
When you notice a swarm of flying insects around a lake or pond, you may assume they are mosquitoes. They could be, but they may also be midges. Mosquitoes and midges are two types of flying insects
Read more
There are 2 main types of aeration, surface and diffused. In general, Surface Aeration is best in shallow irrigation dams or when large amounts of oxygen are needed quickly. Surface aerators physicall
Read more
If aeration is one of the top forms of overall pond management and the best way to balance a pond ecosystem, circulation is a close second. Circulation, just like the blood in your veins, is critical
Read more
Duckweed and watermeal are two very similar aquatic plants and are often found together in the same water body. They are both free-floating plants and once established, they are extremely resilient an
Read more
Golf course ponds and lakes suffer from many common problems that are often made more difficult when maintaining turf to the highest standards. Nutrient over-enrichment from constant fertilisation of
Read more
Have you noticed pond or lake odours that smell like rotten eggs? When there is plenty of oxygen in your pond either naturally or from a properly sized aeration system, anaerobic bacteria will step in
Read more
If you are managing several stormwater ponds, it may have crossed your mind that dredging will be needed at some point. Hopefully your community has had a professional reserve study performed which in
Read more
A wastewater pond requires sufficient Dissolved Oxygen (DO) to satisfy Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) and Nitrogenous Biochemical Oxygen Demand (NBOD). Without DO, a pond can experience odours, high e
Read more
A wastewater pond requires sufficient Dissolved Oxygen (DO) to satisfy Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) and Nitrogenous Biochemical Oxygen Demand (NBOD). Without DO, a pond can experience odours, high e
Read more
Lagoons are usually thought of in the context of municipal wastewater treatment, however, they are also popular for many industries, such as fruit and vegetable, meat, dairy processing, and wineries.
Read more
Biological treatment is the most efficient way of removing soluble compounds from wastewater. Until recent times, it was functionally the only way. Biological treatment is far more efficient and avail
Read more
When confronted with new discharge consent requirements, many municipalities feel their only option is to decommission their otherwise adequate wastewater lagoon treatment system and replace it with a
Read more
There’s nothing quite like some water in our gardens to convey a sense of peace and tranquility – a water feature burbling away, a sparkling, clear pond with a few water lilies in it and some goldfish
Read more
How to control algae in commercial lakes and fisheries
When you start to think about it, large expanses of water can be found in many different places:
Read more
Mr Rhodri Jenkins of Swansea wanted a reflection pool so he recently used Dyofix Pond Black to create a beautiful reflective surface.
Mr Jenkins was very kind and sent over pictures of his new water
Read more
What a pleasure it was to watch the video, showing the before and after using Dyofix Pond Blue in a fishing lake. As you can see, the fishing lake shores especially were negatively impacted by algae a
Read more
A meat processing wastewater lagoon can have a bad reputation because of the potential for sludge build-up and odour. However, a properly functioning meat processing wastewater lagoon, one with suffic
Read more
The mysterious discovery from the air of over 300 elephant carcasses, back in July of this year, sent alarm bells ringing to conservationists within Africa and much further afield.
Whilst over 300 de
Read more
Wastewater lagoon pH is a common testing parameter that is easily taken for granted. Dig a little deeper, however, and pH can give you valuable clues about what’s going on in your lagoon and help.....
Read more
Lagoon dissolved oxygen, or DO, is the lifeblood of the wastewater lagoon system. The bacteria and other microbes that consume biological oxygen demand (BOD) need 1.5–2 lbs. of dissolved oxygen per...
Read more
Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) and Total Suspended Solids, or TSS, are standard testing parameters for wastewater lagoons. The ratio between the two numbers can provide valuable insight into........
Read more
One of the benefits of lagoons for wastewater treatment is their built-in sludge storage, which reduces the need for sludge handling. However, every lagoon will eventually require dredging to........
Read more
Here’s how we helped to remove an excess of 1,500m3 of wet sludge volume from an NZ municipal wastewater oxidation pond, within six months, using Parklink’s Advanced Microbial Digestion (AMD) system.
Read more
Both Alum and Phoslock® are used as a P-inactivation agent in eutrophic lakes and reservoirs throughout the world. Alum has been used in North America and Europe for more than three decades. In contra
Read more
Odours can have some very negative consequences as the stench coming from your pond can impact the well-being of those around you, and this is also the most commonly noted reason a smelly pond is repo
Read more
Your pond mimics a natural waterbody and so is highly influenced by the surrounding environment. This can mean changes in water quality and colour occur over time which can result in common problems i
Read more
Every water body, whether it’s a dam, river or a lake, will have a unique water chemistry that is influenced by environmental and animal interactions.
pH is the measure/scale of acidity and alkalinit
Read more
Enhanced Microbial Digestion is the process of adding specific cultures of microorganisms to WSP in quantities sufficient to increase the average rate of hydrolysis, resulting in reduction of accumula
Read more
Wet sludge volume, sludge solids concentrations and inert fraction of dry solids are the main considerations when quantifying or surveying the accumulated sludge in a WSP. All survey levels should be
Read more
If the water is murky and a brown or tan-ish colour, sediment particles are likely suspended within the water column. This often happens after a large rain event, so shoreline areas should be inspecte
Read more
Without proper water quality testing and analysis, it can be difficult to determine the exact causes behind a green pond. The green you’re seeing may be algae. While algae look similar to some aquatic
Read more
In communities with lakes and ponds, managers need to be vigilant to prevent Cyanobacteria – also known as blue green algae. Algae is a natural component of any lake or pond system. But in more and mo
Read more
When it comes to the management of a lake or pond, many people look for natural and environmentally-friendly options. There are, in fact, many eco-friendly solutions that can be used to help improve f
Read more
You may not realise it, but if you live in a heavily-populated area, most waterbodies you see are man-made. While they often provide aesthetic beauty and serve as a small habitat for birds and fish, t
Read more
For years, the accepted method of pond management was to wait for a problem, like an algae bloom or excessive aquatic weed growth and then “react to it” with a chemical application. Although this is e
Read more
You’ve probably heard the term D.O. as it relates to water and water quality, but do you know why it matters and why you should care about it?
D.O. stands for Dissolved Oxygen and refers to the amoun
Read more
Aeration is an integral part of your entire pond ecosystem and is also a tool to effectively manage aquatic plant growth. The most important benefit of supplemental aeration in your pond is buffering
Read more
When looking at a fountain or aerator in a lake or a pond, you’re more likely to focus on the aesthetics than recognize how the system is working to benefit the pond. In this article we highlight the
Read more
There are 2 main types of aeration, surface and bottom. In general, Surface Aeration is best in shallow water applications or when large amounts of oxygen are needed quickly. Splashing style surface a
Read more
If aeration is one of the best forms of overall pond management and the best way to balance a pond ecosystem, circulation is a close second. Circulation, just like the blood in your veins, is critical
Read more
Not all retention or detention ponds are created equal. Some retention ponds are much more effective at catching pollutants, removing or using up those pollutants, and discharging cleaner water than o
Read more
Despite often being the #1 complaint of many pond owners, aquatic plants do serve a vital purpose in any pond ecosystem. They can add vital fish habitat, stimulate the food chain, add to the beauty of
Read more
While algae is necessary, it can also cause many problems within a pond environment if it is not kept in check. There are a variety of ways to manage and prevent major algae problems within a pond, bu
Read more
While it may be a constant and uphill battle, there are ways to reduce and eliminate excessive nutrients once they are in your pond. It is ideal to prevent the nutrients from entering the pond to begi
Read more
Algae blooms can be the result of various factors, but are usually due to excessive nutrient loading from fertilisers, sewage and animal waste. Identifying and quantifying nutrient sources, both inter
Read more
Harmful algae blooms, commonly known as HABs, are overgrowths of algae that are often found in stormwater ponds, retention basins, or community lakes. These sometimes toxic algal blooms are caused whe
Read more
Lakes and ponds are catch basins for many sources of nutrient pollution. Excess nitrogen and phosphorus from animal or fish waste, stormwater runoff, grass clippings or leaves, and fertilisers are a j
Read more
Install an aerator Waterfalls, floating fountains, and lake bed aerators keep oxygen circulating in the water and decaying organic material from becoming toxic, preventing fish loss and algae growth.
Read more
Minimise runoff Maintaining dense beneficial vegetation around your lake or pond is extremely beneficial for improving water quality and preventing erosion. This area is commonly referred to as a buff
Read more
These single-celled organisms live in fresh, brackish (combined salt and fresh water), and marine water. These organisms use sunlight to make their own food. In warm, nutrient-rich (high in phosphorus
Read more
Algae problems happen when you have a combination of water, sun and nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorous). Some species of algae are called filamentous and form mats while some are microscopic making y
Read more
Harmful algae blooms, commonly known as HABs, are overgrowths of algae that are often found in stormwater ponds, retention basins, or community lakes.
Read more
String algae, horse hair, moss, and pond scum are just a few of the common terms used to describe the many different species of filamentous algae.
Read more
Denitrification is the conversion of soluble nitrate to nitrogen gas in the nitrogen cycle. For denitrification to occur, three factors are needed:
Read more
Periodically checking the sludge levels in the WSP can be performed to assess sludge accumulation, and to assist with planning and budgeting for sludge removal. Ideally sludge depth profiles should...
Read more
What is Sludge?
Sludge is a combination of organic debris such as dead algae, plants, grass clipping, leaves, or animal waste and inorganic sand, silt and gravel that builds up on the bottom of lakes
Read more
Winter is Coming
Cold weather and cooler ambient air temperatures lead to cooler water temperatures and changes in the aquatic ecosystems of lakes and ponds.
Read more
The term “bioaugmentation” for using a microbial additive to enhance a biological process is an apt one. Added microbes augment the existing biomass making it more stable and increasing its ability to
Read more
Do you have a large natural pond, farm pond or a very large lined irrigation pond overgrown with weeds, with deep layers of sludge, excessive algae growth or water clarity issues?
Read more
Managing a lake or pond is hard for aquatic professionals, homeowners, government workers, golf course superintendents, and everyone else.......
Read more
With increased disinfecting protocols due to COVID-19, we are seeing large quantities of cleaning products reaching wastewater plants............
Read more
Our new site makes it easier than ever before to find the best possible solution for your lake, pond or wastewater treatment and management needs.
Read more
The South Taranaki District Council is the first council to use an innovative scheme using bacteria for sludge removal in New Zealand from the Hawera wastewater treatment pond.
Read more
