Our Service

Cleaning Ponds and Other Waterways

Remove Bottom Sediments From Your Pond

Pond cleaning is our specialty. Servicing pond owners since 1990, we have a unique, efficient, and economical way of removing the MUCK or BIOMASS and restoring new life to your pond or other waterway.
 

THE LIFE CYCLE OF PONDS

Unfortunately, for most ponds, they start a dying process at the moment of construction.  This is nothing to be alarmed about.  It is just part of a natural cycle, transforming a pond into a swamp, then a marsh, and finally a prairie.

In the beginning, our fine-feathered friends bring algae, weeds, and eggs to our ponds.  The wind contributes leaves, branches, grasses and other material.  All of this accumulates in what we call "the bowl" or "septic tank" of the pond, (usually the deepest area).  In the shallows, up to about three feet, live the aerobic bacteria.  This bacterium decomposes foreign matter quickly.  In the bowl area, live the anaerobic bacteria, which cannot decompose the incoming matter quickly enough.  This bacterial war rages on and the fallout is phosphates, nitrogen, methane, and other toxic gases, diffusing throughout the water in the pond, reducing living space for fish and other aquatic species.  In essence, instead of the aerobic bacteria feeding the animal kingdom and continuing a natural, healthy food chain, the anaerobic bacteria disrupts this natural process and feeds the plant kingdom, increasing algae and weed growth.  Natural springs and aerators help, but eventually, even these lose ground to this natural process.

Specializing in Pond Restoration and MUCK Removal

THE SOLUTION

We at OSR Systems use a hydraulic method, pumping the sludge (MUCK), from the bowl areas.  It is an extremely clean and cost-effective way of removing the MUCK and toxic gases without the use of heavy equipment.  It also does not interfere with existing wild and aquatic life which presently inhabit the pond.  

Once the bowl areas are cleaned to their original bottom, the toxic gases are removed with the MUCK or organic sediment, greatly enhancing the water clarity and quality and giving your pond a fresh, new start as it was in the very beginning.  Depending upon the consistency of the organic sediment, we remove approximately 80,000 to 100,000 gallons per day. This MUCK is no different from the bottom of a septic tank.  It will not mound up, but will flow and seek its own gravitational level.  It is excellent fertilizer and will not harm grasslands or wooded areas.  The pump used can reach 200 feet into a pond and discharge back up to 600 feet, depending on elevation and grade.  For ponds with limited discharge space, we have incorporated a new system that will service any pond, large or small, within a confined area.