Lakes are beautiful water sources that provide clear water for recreational purposes, consumption and aquatic ecosystems. Despite this, they can become murky and polluted from weeds, waste and sediment. Fortunately, you can clean your lake with various equipment and herbicides to keep its water pristine. Learn more with our quick guide below.

Benefits of Lake Cleaning

Cleaning water sources provides numerous advantages for landowners and businesses, such as:

• Preserving marine life: Periodic lake cleaning removes trash and debris or sediment, creating a healthier ecosystem for marine life and allowing them to flourish.
• Regulating water: Clean lakes help ease flood and drought impacts on a region. They store water, giving people access during shortages, and they increase water flow by removing sediment along the bottom. Water can flow freely, lessening the risk of floods.
• Preserving water quality: Lakes replenish groundwater sources. Clean lakes preserve the area’s water quality, biodiversity and habitat. Unclean lakes cause toxins to seep into the soil and pollute groundwater.
• Restoring environments: Removing sediment can reverse soil erosion and restore shorelines to their natural state.
• Enabling safe passage: Clean water sources provide safe, unobstructed passage for cargo vessels transporting raw materials, oil or other commodities.
• Creating space for construction: Sediment removal clears a path for waterway projects.
• Filling in land spaces: After professionals remove sediment, they use it to fill holes in the land.

How to Clean a Lake

Cleaning a lake involves removing weeds, debris and other pollution using equipment and herbicides. Learn how to keep a lake clean with weed management and pollution control.

Weed Management

It’s natural for lakes and ponds to have algae and weeds. These aquatic plants can benefit the ecosystem because fish can feed on them. Still, you must control weed and algae populations. An overgrowth can cause cloudy water and oxygen deprivation.

You can control aquatic plant population with the following:

• Pond dyes and shading: Pond dyes and other shading methods prevent sunlight from reaching your pond. Shading decreases the population of algae.
• Algae herbicides: Commercially available algae herbicides naturally break down the organism. You can follow the manufacturer’s instructions to treat your lake — only treat half at a time.
• Ultraviolet (UV) clarifiers: UV clarifiers release UV light, killing weeds. The UV light doesn’t harm fish and other wildlife. Note that UV clarifiers are inefficient for large lakes.
• Manual removal: Some algae resemble plants, so you can remove them by cutting, raking, vacuuming or pulling.
• Submerged weed control: The primary part of a submerged weed is below the water, even if the upper portion is above. Therefore, submerged weeds have soft stems. You can remove them by skimming, raking, cutting or pulling.
• Floating weed control: Floating weeds mainly occur in stagnant shallow lake water. Remove floating weeds by cutting them or using herbicides. Vacuuming and raking can remove smaller ones. You can prevent floating weeds from growing by increasing aeration and promoting water movement.
• Emergent weed control: Emergent weeds can grow in shallow water. You remove them by cutting, pulling or using herbicides.

Pollution Control

The Environmental Protection Agency found that almost 70,000 bodies of water nationwide don’t meet water quality standards. Polluted waters aren’t safe for humans or aquatic life. Lake pollutants come from pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, soil erosion, dams, runoff and storm sewers. You can combat lake pollution by:

• Preserving the natural vegetation around lakes.
• Maintaining septic systems and conducting regular inspections.
• Diverting stormwater runoff to the ground.
• Keeping yard waste out of storm drains, and off lakes and streets.
• Picking up and disposing of pet waste in the trash.
• Dredging the lake to remove sediment, trash, dead vegetation, sludge, sewage and other debris.

Learn More About Lake Dredging

Lake Cleaning Equipment

Without maintenance, pollution accumulates in lakes, causing them to be unsafe. You can adequately maintain your lake with the right equipment, keeping it fresh, clean and beautiful.

Dredges are the best lake cleaning equipment. They remove excess sediment from the bottom, sides and banks of lakes while preserving the water’s quality. Sedimentation causes many issues over time, including water depth reduction and contamination. After removing the sediment, workers transport it to another location to reuse it.

The Dino6 Dredge is excellent for lakes. It has many features and benefits, such as:

• Power: With 65 horsepower and a high-torque suction boom, the Dino6 enables you to clear large clumps of sediment faster than ever.
• Portability: You can transport it with a pickup truck and trailer.
• Flexibility: It can go where other dredges can’t, such as small lakes and tight spaces.
• Efficiency: The Dino6 is the most efficient dredging equipment. Its tank holds 30 gallons of fuel and only uses 3 gallons per hour.
• Easy to use: It’s as easy to use as possible. The operator lowers the boom to the bottom of the lake, the cutting bar’s teeth loosen the sediment, a vacuum sucks it up and you transport it to a disposal site.

Other types of lake cleaning equipment include:

• Aerators: Aerators circulate water to increase and stabilize the oxygen levels in your lake. Wind and heavy rain are natural aerators, but if they’re inconsistent, you can use mechanical aerators.
• Excavators: You can attach a bucket, grab or rake to an excavator. With an attachment, the excavator can skim the surface of your lake to remove sediment and debris.
• Weed harvesters: Weed harvesters help prevent aquatic vegetation from spreading. They’re similar to dredges, but they only remove weeds. The machine works like a lawn mower for water. It floats in the lake and cuts weeds and other aquatic plants. Once cut, the weeds move to a conveyor on the mower’s deck for storage.
• Aquatic skimmers: Aquatic skimmers remove surface and semi-submerged waste from your pond. It can remove algae, debris like plastic and litter, and liquid waste like oil and sewage.
• Lake rakes: Lake rakes harvest weeds on a small scale, such as residential ponds and lake cleaning. You throw the device into the lake and pull it back to shore. As it comes back, the rake’s teeth cut muck and weeds.
• De-icers: De-icers push warm water to the lake’s surface to prevent ice accumulation. Creating ice-free areas protects water structures and prevents ice damage.

Learn more about our powerful and compact Dino6 Dredge, or contact us today to see how our machines and lake cleaning services can help you.

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Do Your Research

The first step to choosing a dredging contractor is to do your research on the contractors in the area. In your research, you’ll want to start by searching for excavating or dredging contractors in your area. Once you find the local contractors, you’ll want to look at any online reviews of the company. While Google’s a great place to start, you should also check the companies’ social media pages for other customers’ reviews and comments.

Remember, an occasional negative review is standard for any business and doesn’t always reflect on the kind of service a company can offer, so you should always try to look at the complete picture. To take your research to the next level, and you can even contact the company and ask if they have past client references to get a clear picture of how they operate. Often, a company will have a list of clients as references for you to get in contact with.

Research Their Equipment

After checking out their reviews and looking into their references, you should also do some research on their equipment. Begin by looking at their website if they have one to see what they offer, then make an appointment to talk with them in person. It’s a best practice to ask questions about equipment before you employ a contractor, and reputable dredging contractors will be happy to answer any questions you might have.

During your research of their equipment, you’ll want to see if the gear they have available will be able to complete the job efficiently.

For example, a marina is a tight area to dredge, so a huge excavator won’t do the job, nor will a large ocean dredge. In this case, you would want the contractor to have a smaller dredge. If you learn they have a Dino6 Dredge or other similar product that can access hard-to-reach areas, you can be confident they have the tools to get the job done.

You’ll also want to see if their equipment is environmentally friendly to make sure you are being responsible by hiring them. Along with this, you can check to see if they own or rent their equipment. Companies that rent equipment may charge higher costs as they try to cover their rental fees.

How Much Does a Dredging Contractor Cost?

Costs will vary based on the size of the project, timeline, equipment used and disposal of the material. Before you agree to a contractor, get a detailed estimate, so you know what the projected costs are. You should ask to see an itemized breakdown of everything you will be spending money on.

Typically, a few main factors go into the cost of hiring a dredging contractor. First, the company will need to establish how much material there is to dredge. Next, they’ll have to determine where they can store everything they haul out of the water and what the disposal process will need to look like. Finally, a contractor will take into account the type of material they need to dredge, factoring the degree of difficulty of removal into the cost.

Keep in mind that dredging contractors often have hundreds of thousands of dollars invested in equipment to perform their jobs, so hiring them isn’t cheap.

Ask If Their Employees Are Trained

Often, small contractors are one- or two-person operations, and the employees are skilled using dredging equipment. As you select a dredging company, you should ask if they have provided the proper training for their employees. Dredging is a technical process, and because of that, anyone operating the equipment should know how to use it safely. Due to the many contractors who have the appropriate expertise in using the equipment, you shouldn’t settle for a contractor that hasn’t taken the time to train their employees.

Sometimes, manufacturers will teach companies that purchase their equipment to use it properly. For example, GeoForm International offers training with each machine we sell. If the contractor uses a Dino6 or a Dino8, they’re likely well-trained by the manufacturer.

Be Sure They’re Insured

After confirming that they have the appropriate training, you’ll want to verify they’re insured. For one, you don’t want to be unexpectedly liable if their equipment gets damaged while they’re working on your job. Even if you aren’t worried about being held responsible, insurance can ensure the project stays on schedule, even when unexpected accidents occur.

Dredging equipment can be expensive. If it becomes damaged and it’s uninsured, it can be a massive drain on a company’s finances. For a company that is running on the margins, the damage could even send them under, leaving your project incomplete. You’ll have to start the search process all over again, and most likely spend more money on the project than you had budgeted.

Due to the necessity of having insurance, there are many heavy equipment insurance companies and plans on the market. If you want assurance that your project will get completed on time, the dredging contractor you select must have insurance for their equipment.

Need Recommendations for Your Dredging Project?

At GeoForm International, we have many dredging contractors as our clients, and we have taken it upon ourselves to provide them with training on many of our high-quality dredging and pumping systems. As you select a dredging contractor, we may be able to help if we have a customer that fits your project needs.

Contact us today to speak with one of our experts in dredging to see if we can match you with a contractor in your area who will be a great fit.

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What to Do With Sediment After Dredging

Knowing this, it’s only logical that many of our customers ask what to do with sediment after dredging. Fortunately, after being in business for more than 20 years and supplying high-quality dredging and pumping systems to customers around the world, this is a question we’re well-equipped to answer.

It’s important to understand that while some dredged material is contaminated and deposited in confined disposal facilities (CDFs), a significant amount of it can be reused. Now, exactly how you reuse it depends on your objective, as well as whether the dredged material is a waste product, a recovered product or byproduct, or a primary product.

Waste Product from Dredging

If the dredged material is a waste product, there are several ways it can be used. For example, sand can be used for beach nourishment — in other words, to enhance existing beaches where the shoreline is threatened by erosion or even to create new beaches. It can also be used in combination with geotextile tubes to build out flood defenses on beaches.

Finer materials such as clay and fine dirt also have many applications. Fine clay material can be used for land creation and construction fill, especially for new land areas within harbors and ports. Fine dirt is also often mixed with additives such as manure, biosolids or compost to create or enhance topsoil.

Recovered Product or Byproduct

If your objective is to recover a product — in other words, to harvest or gather materials — there’s a wide range of potential uses depending on the product. The same goes for products that are a byproduct of your primary objective with the dredging operation.

For example, dredging is commonly used to harvest peat moss, which is used throughout the world as fuel or to enhance soil. Dredging is also used to recover biosolids — organic materials made from sewage — to create fertilizer.

Here’s another interesting example: One of our customers is a golf course that used the Dino6 to dredge all of its ponds. While doing so, they recovered approximately five 55-gallon drums worth of golf balls, most of which were still in perfectly usable condition!

Primary Product

If you’re mining or dredging for a primary product, there are several potential uses for the dredged materials. Sand, for example, is gathered for a range of production purposes, including the making of glass or as a component in mortar. Dredged material can also include other fine granules — including precious metals like gold.

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Clearly, there are many different uses for dredged materials depending on the materials themselves and your objective. If you have any further questions about dredged material uses or any of our products, contact our team of experts today!

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Do you need to dredge a body of water or waterway? If so, you might be wondering whether you should choose mechanical or hydraulic dredging for best results. The answer is: It depends. Read on to learn more about mechanical vs. hydraulic dredging so you can determine which option is best for your project.

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Mechanical vs. Hydraulic Dredging: Things to Consider

When it comes to deciding between mechanical and hydraulic dredging, there are various considerations to take into account:

• Equipment: Mechanical dredging involves the use of an excavator or another type of heavy equipment — usually situated on a barge or on the water’s edge — to dig out the bed of the body of water and remove the sediment. The sediment is then hauled away for disposal or reuse. In contrast, hydraulic dredging uses suction to remove the sediment, which is then transported through a pipe and deposited elsewhere to be disposed of or recycled. A certain amount of skill and experience are required to achieve the optimal suction setting for different bodies of water and types of sediment.
• Intended dredging area: Location can play an important role. For example, hydraulic dredging is a good solution for areas where environmental concerns are important. Generally, mechanical dredging is well-suited for locations that require a high degree of precision since in most cases mechanical dredging allows for more mobility. This is why GeoForm International invented the Dino6 and Dino8– which is a hydraulic dredge that has increased mobility and precision compared to larger hydraulic dredges.
• Type of dredge material: While dredging in itself can remove a variety of bottom materials, the two methods are best suited to different kinds of materials. Because mechanical dredging equipment is robust and doesn’t filter the dredge material, it’s most often used to remove rock and gravel. Hydraulic dredging equipment, on the other hand, is best suited for removing fine silt, sand and dirt. 
• Material suspension: Material suspension refers to the fact that during dredging, certain amounts of dredge material — which can include contaminants — are stirred up and are suspended in the water. This is especially a concern with mechanical dredging. Hydraulic dredging, in contrast, uses a cutterhead shroud to contain the suspended material so it can be pumped away.

In short, when it comes to mechanical dredging, benefits include speed, mobility, and accuracy, as well as the ability to handle larger dredge materials. However, its drawbacks include the high percentage of resuspended sediment, plus the costs of acquiring, operating, and maintaining the required heavy equipment.

When it comes to hydraulic dredging, benefits include:

• The lower costs of purchasing, operating and maintaining the equipment
• A low percentage of suspended sediment
• The ability to remove fine materials such as silt and sand 
• A wide variety of waterways that can be dredged, including:
  • HOA water ways
  • lakes
  • ponds
  • lagoons
  • marinas

Its disadvantages include the fact that it’s not suited to removing larger or coarser dredge materials. Plus, it can take longer than mechanical dredging, depending on the site.

Contact GeoForm International for Hydraulic Dredge Solutions

If you’d like to know more about the benefits of hydraulic dredging, contact the team of experts here at GeoForm International. With more than 20 years of experience providing top of the line dredging solutions to customers across the globe, we welcome the opportunity to answer your questions and discuss your dredging needs. To learn more, please fill out our contact form or call 913-782-1166.

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WHAT IS POND DREDGING?

Pond dredging is the process of removing sediment with a portable dredge, which allows the operator to collect the sediment and transport it to another location. Dredging a pond can alleviate or prevent a variety of issues, which is why it’s such a crucial maintenance step for properties with a pond.

Reasons You Should Dredge your Pond

While some transitions can happen without you noticing, changes in waterways are quite noticeable. Often, many people look into a dredge for their pond after seeing a difference in their pond’s appearance.

So what should you be searching for when it comes to your pond? Signs that you should dredge your pond include:

• Decrease in depth and width: One of the most significant symptoms of waterholes in need of dredging is shrinkage. Many become shallower as sediment, trash and other debris build up on the bottom of them. Over time, many will also decrease in width, which is why they can become swamps without timely intervention.
  
• Increase in odor and algae: While aeration often remedies less-than-desirable smells as well as excess algae, dredging tends to be used in coordination with an aerator. If a previous owner neglected your pond, you would likely use a dredge for your pond and then install an aerator for long-term management.
  
• Reduction in aquatic wildlife: Another sign you should dredge your pond is a lack of marine wildlife and an excess amount of plant life. Eutrophication, or excess nutrients in the water due to runoff, causes an imbalance between plants and wildlife. That can lead to oxygen deprivation, which causes the death of aquatic wildlife.

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If you notice these signs, especially a depth change, dredging is an option to consider.

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Benefits of Dredging Your Pond

Choosing to dredge your pond offers several benefits, including:

• Improved visual appearance of waters
• Increased width and depth
• Raised oxygen levels for wildlife

Overall, dredging ensures your pond stays healthy and sustainable by helping to maintain its local ecosystem.

How to Dredge A Pond Yourself

Your process for dredging your pond depends on a few factors, such as its condition. If your pond’s almost a swamp, for example, you will drain it before beginning the dredging process. Fuller ponds, however, may be dredged without emptying first. Determining how much to dredge a pond is also essential in selecting the right equipment and planning the project effectively.

The process for pond dredging includes:

1. Creating a channel for draining your pond, if called for.
2. Using an appropriate-sized dredge boat to remove the built-up sediment layers.
3. Refilling the pond via the constructed channel or allowing it to refill through rainwater.

While some organizations opt to use hand dredges, dredge boats are more powerful and reliable, not to mention safer.

Learn More About Dredges for Ponds

At GeoForm International, we offer more than 20 years of experience in dredging. All our dredges, which include small pond dredges like the Dino 6, are built with high-quality materials in the U.S. to deliver a long-lasting piece of equipment for maintaining your waterways. Learn more about our pond dredging equipment and cutter suction dredges by contacting us today!

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So which is better: a dredge boat or hand dredging?

What Is a Dredge Barge?

A dredge barge is a sediment removal system. It features a barge with an installed dredge system for removing sediment, trash, dead vegetation and other debris from the bottom of ponds, lakes and other bodies of water. The Dino 6 is an example of a dredge boat.

What Is Hand Dredging?

A hand dredge, or a do-it-yourself (DIY) dredge, is also a sediment removal system. Unlike a dredge barge, however, it only includes the dredge system, which means users must equip a hand dredge to an existing raft, boat or barge.  These homemade pond dredges are cheap in cost, but have many drawbacks.

Pros and Cons of DIY Dredging

With any application, including DIY dredging, there are drawbacks and benefits:

• Pros: For many organizations and institutions, the cost of hand dredging is a significant benefit. All you have to purchase is the dredging pump system, which features an engine, pump, hose and It also lets you reuse existing boats and equip them with the system.
• Cons: While prices are lower than dredge boats, DIY dredges are prone to breaking and require maintenance on a frequent basis. Because of their design, they’re limited in their engine and suction power, too, which can lead to longer dredging times and ineffective performance. If you build a homemade pond dredge, you’re also restricted when it comes to its parts. Most pumps used for DIY dredging projects are designed to pump water and not hard, abrasive materials commonly found when dredging.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Dredge Boats

Like hand dredging, dredge boats also have pros and cons:

• Advantages: Many of DIY dredging’s drawbacks are a dredge barge’s benefits. They feature high-quality materials, like stainless-steel. They’re also capable of delivering more power, which makes sediment removal hassle- and clog-free. Some, like the Dino 6, are portable and lightweight, too, which prevents damage to recovery sites. Most manufacturers stock replacement parts as well, which ensures long-term use of your barge. Another benefit of dredge boats is they’re designed from the ground up using materials designed to withstand the harsh conditions of dredging in varying environments.
• Disadvantages: A disadvantage many people note about dredge boats is their price. While more expensive than DIY dredges, they’re also more reliable and durable, which is why they’re possibly more cost-effective in the long-term. These dredges are safer than hand dredging, too, which supports the idea that these sediment removal systems are an investment for liability prevention and property maintenance.     

Learn More about Dredge Barges

At GeoForm International, we know dredges. For more than 20 years, our team has manufactured American-made dredge barge boats for organizations all over the world, from mining facilities to homeowners’ associations. Learn more about our dredges by contacting us today!

People Also Read:

What is Dredging and How Does It Work?

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Should I Dredge My Pond?

Golf Course Pond Maintenance

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Golfers may differ on their opinion of water hazards — some may like the challenge, others not so much. They all share the same view, though, when it comes to a golf course pond that’s covered in algae, smells and attracts a hive of insects. That’s why it’s critical for golf courses to maintain their ponds.

The most attractive golf courses are usually the ones that contain an abundance of sparkling lakes, ponds and other beautiful water features. This makes golf course pond maintenance a top priority for groundskeepers. Timely sediment removal is a critical step for ensuring golf course waterbodies remain in pristine condition and make a day on the links more enjoyable for the players.

While many golf courses take a chemical approach to cleaning their ponds, this method costs thousands of dollars each year and can even result in an overbearing chemical smell, which doesn’t appeal to golfers either. So, how else can you make your golf course pond cleaner? With aeration and dredging.

Learn About Golf Course Pond Dredging

Golf Course Pond Maintenance — Aeration

Aeration is a useful tactic for golf course pond maintenance, which you can learn more about below:

What Is Aeration?

Ponds require oxygen, which aeration works to deliver. Without oxygen, sludge builds up. When the mud and muck break down, it consumes the oxygen left in your pond. Limited oxygen then lends itself to the growth of algae, which results in a lake that smells and lacks visual appeal.

How to Aerate a Golf Course Pond

Mechanical aeration works by transferring oxygen through air-to-water contact. When people think of aerating their ponds, their first thought is fountains. While they do qualify as aerators, most don’t have the power and thrust that’s required to aerate.

That’s why golf course pond maintenance that features aeration uses one of the following methods:

• Surface aeration: Floating surface aerators disrupt the water surface and displace water, which allows for air-to-water contact. Electricity powers these aerators.
• Subsurface aeration: An air compressor delivers oxygen to your pond, which leads to the formation and rising of bubbles to the surface. This technique is recommended for ponds that are at least 8 feet deep.

Some courses opt to use aeration alongside chemical treatments.

Golf Course Pond Maintenance — Dredging

Dredging is another method for golf course pond maintenance that delivers results. Learn more about it below:

What Is Dredging?

Ponds with an excessive amount of sludge and sediment can turn into swamps with ease. Dredging is a tactic that prevents that from happening by cleaning out that muck. It can also widen and increase the depth of your pond, as sludge can become as deep as 10 feet.

How to Dredge a Golf Course Pond

A dredge for golf course ponds is the basis for dredging. The machine works by pumping the water and sludge out through a submersible pump and into a series of bladder bags or dewatering tubes. These bags have minuscule holes, which let the water escape but keep the muck inside.

Golf course pond maintenance often benefits from both dredging and aerating, especially if your pond needs an extensive amount of assistance due to mismanagement. With proper management, you not only deliver a positive golfing experience to your patrons but also reduce the time and expense of maintaining your pond.

How Dredging Can Simplify Golf Course Pond Maintenance

The challenge that groundskeepers face is finding ways to maintain and restore ponds and lakes without damaging the course. Manually draining, excavating and refilling the waterbodies can be a time-consuming, potentially destructive process that doesn’t always yield the best results. So, many professional groundskeepers choose to rely on specialized dredging equipment to make the job easier and minimize the risk of damage — smart.

Maintain Your Golf Course Pond With GeoForm International

At GeoForm International, we help golf courses around the world keep their ponds clean with the DinoSix and Dino8 dredge, as well as our exclusive aerator. All of our machines are made in the U.S. and in-house at our machine shop.

What makes our dredges for golf course ponds stand out is their lightweight yet durable build, which offers lower maintenance and transportation costs than other dredges. Their compact size also results in low-impact launches and minimal repairs to the area surrounding your pond. Despite its lightweight design and construction, the Dino6 is a powerful golf course pond dredge that will remove accumulated muck and debris without damaging the waterbody or disrupting its ecosystem.

Contact us today to learn how our equipment can help with your golf course pond!

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People Also Read:

What is Dredging and How Does It Work?

Guide to Submersible Pumps

Should I Dredge My Pond?

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