What is Lake Restoration?

Lake restoration keeps the ecosystem of lakes safe and healthy through proper maintenance. Lakes are valuable to the environment and provide resources for humans and for aquatic life. Leaving lakes without proper maintenance can cause pollution and lead to the invasion of harmful plant life and the lake can, unfortunately, become contaminated and unfit to swim or live in.

There are a few different aspects of water restoration that are essential to know about and it is especially important to know what lake restoration is in the first place in order to properly maintain the lakes in your area.

In this guide, you will learn what lake restoration is and the benefits that come along with it.

What Exactly is Lake Restoration?

Lake restoration is an essential process for keeping lakes in peak condition for the sake of the environment. It can be done in or around the lake and is a necessary process for keeping the water clean. After all, no one wants to swim in contaminated water or get caught up in weeds when they are swimming or fishing.

Lakes can encounter many detrimental threats that can make the quality of the water decrease. In order to prevent that from happening, make sure you take proper measures for lake restoration as often as you need.

Lakes are utilized for many different purposes and these include fishing, swimming, holding aquatic life, and human water supplies. With all of the factors that could cause stress to the ecosystems of lakes, lake restoration has become mandatory.

Lake restoration will reduce the chances of harmful contamination and the spread of harmful wildlife. Most lake restoration efforts focus on land management and excessive nutrient loading.

Goals of Lake Restoration

The overall goal of lake restoration is to keep the environment safe to inhabit for humans and marine life alike. Lake ecosystems need to be maintained and restored in order to conserve different species of native fish and plants. Doing so can also be beneficial to many bird species as well.

Some lakes are used for recreational purposes and some are used for providing clean water supplies. Hence, restoring lakes will ensure that the water remains healthy and safe to use. Preventing eutrophication, among other things, will help keep lakes as clean as possible.

Eutrophication

Eutrophication can cause a lack of oxygen to plant and animal life in lakes due to overly rich nutrients that occur through runoff from the land. It can become a problem since it contributes to water pollution and the spread of algae.

As a result, the ecosystem will be disrupted and prevent oxygen and sunlight from reaching other marine life.

The prevention of eutrophication is a common long-term solution as a form of lake restoration. It will prevent harm to marine life, which will also keep the environment cleaner.

Marine Life

One of the most important purposes of lake restoration is to conserve and protect marine life. Native plants and animals will require certain levels of sunlight and oxygen to survive.

Contamination in the lake and the invasion of harmful plant species can prevent them from getting the nutrients they need.

Endangered species are especially at risk of being harmed by negative changes in the ecosystem. Littoral zone restoration is essential to helping native marine life survive.

Nutrient Control

Nutrient control is a component of lake restoration that ensures that lakes have the nutrients they need. The nutrients that they do not need will then get eliminated.

It might be surprising to know that nutrient removal is actually imperative to make sure that there are no major changes to the ecosystem of certain lakes.

Nutrient diversion is necessary for lake ecosystems that have been affected by eutrophication. Controlling the nutrients can ensure that lakes do not get either overloaded with excessive nutrients. They will also not be stripped of their more essential nutrients that the ecosystem was previously lacking.

Littoral Zone Restoration

Littoral zones are parts of the lake that are closer to the shore. However, there is no real way to define littoral zones since they are divided variously depending on their regions.

Littoral zone restoration is essential since many marine life species can be located near or on the shores of lakes. It will help preserve marine life and keep them within a healthy environment where they can grow.

Case Study Example: The Great Lakes

The Great Lakes are a series of freshwater lakes that meet to connect to the Atlantic Ocean. They are the source of at least 20% of the world’s freshwater supply.

Many people and forms of marine life in the areas surrounded by the Great Lakes will be affected if they are exposed to environmental issues.

The areas of concern that are spread out through the Great Lakes are classified as areas that are most at risk of contamination.

The Great Lakes Regional Collaboration was formed to handle the problems that can affect the Great Lakes and they also help keep the environment clean while preserving marine life.

Conclusion

Many people use lakes for recreational purposes such as swimming, fishing, transportation, and more. Some lakes are even used as industrial water supplies.

Many forms of marine life have made residence in lakes and depend on the ecosystem to survive and humans and marine life alike benefit from lakes as a source of life and happiness.

However, lakes can be easily compromised by harmful changes in the environment. By making sure that proper lake restoration is carried out, ecosystems can remain healthy for both humans and marine life.

Endangered species will be protected thanks to lake restoration. Invasive plants will also be prevented from causing further damage to the native lake life. To make sure your lake gets restored to its former glory, reach out to the professionals at Karina Lakefront Maintenance.