Pennoni Associates was retained by Mount Holly Township to provide professional environmental consulting services for the evaluation of a three-lake ecosystem located in the heart of Mount Holly.  These lakes form the centerpiece of an esthetically pleasing public park, and a valuable asset to the community.   The three lakes and their dams also are an important element of the community’s stormwater management.  Over the years, the lakes have become eutrophic, accumulating and recycling nutrients from the surrounding watershed.   As a result, the lakes support excessive populations of nuisance algae and plants, have a diminished fish population, and produce odors in warm weather months.

Pennoni visited the site and performed an assessment of the lakes.  That assessment included:

• A manual bathymetric survey to establish benthic morphology, sediment depth and standing water volumes
• Sediment sampling to determine sediment organic content and nutrient levels
• Monitoring of nutrient levels and dissolved oxygen profiling
• Qualitative sampling and taxonomy of aquatic plants and algae

Pennoni prepared an innovative plan for pond restoration.  That plan would utilize bacterial cultures and enzymes to accelerate the assimilation of soluble nutrients into the natural food chain of the lake system.  To aid this natural process, circulation would be induced through the use of a non-turbulent, laminar flow aeration system.  This biological system would control excessive algae and plant growth through control of available nutrients.