Chemical Application Program

"C.A.P."

During CAP Treatment   Sept. 4, 2003

After CAP Treatment Sept. 9, 2003

As our customers know, IBN is and has been devoted to the natural management of ponds and lakes.  Since our founding, we have promoted long term solutions to many of your water resource problems.  But, as some customers also know, we have turned many people away because their ponds were just too far along in the aging process to be restored naturally.  Very shallow ponds that have received several decades of nutrient deposits just cannot be restored without major undertakings such as dredging or re-digging.  Unfortunately, dredging or re-digging were not always viable options for the pond owners either.   This left a group of pond owners without any direction for managing their ponds.  After repeated request of what they could do themselves to get temporary control of their problematic ponds, there was no option but for them to use chemicals.  IBN couldn’t emphasize the words “sensible”, “sparingly”, and “infrequent” enough.

Typically it wouldn’t take long to receive another phone call from the owners of the problematic ponds indicating that they had no success with the herbicide they had used, or worse yet, they had somehow killed all the fish in their pond.  Human nature sometimes causes people to reason that if a little is good, a lot is better.  This reasoning, combined with unfamiliarity with proper application techniques, leads to ineffective and oftentimes destructive management of water resources.  Although IBN has never been excited about people using herbicides in their water resources, there has occasionally been a need for treatment in those ponds that were beyond natural restoration.  IBN has realized that responsible application by licensed, professional lake managers is a better alternative than having unqualified persons applying materials to these problematic water resources. Therefore, starting this spring, IBN will officially offer our CAP program.

The CAP program (Chemical Application Program) is designed for ponds that have become hypereutrophic (extremely nutrient rich).  These ponds are typically very shallow (less than eight feet deep), display uncontrollable algae or rooted plant growth, and are usually older than 25 years.  Other water resources to be included are nutrient laden water retention ponds and many subdivision ponds that receive excessive nutrient-rich runoff.  All materials used in the CAP program are registered with the Environmental Protection Agency and are applied by state certified and licensed aquatic biologists.  Because IBN employs professional applicators, herbicide dosage rates are precisely calculated to minimize the amount of material applied while ensuring an effective treatment.  Please contact IBN if you feel that your pond or lake may be a candidate for the CAP program.