Random musing around Okemos

4/30/2021 around 6:30 pm I went back over to the pond to check out it out. It remains murky and grey-brown. The good thing is there is nothing floating on the top, so if there are frogs and fish in the pond, the treatment hasn't killed them. I wish I had samples from before the treatment, but I don't. We do know that the water was green and was alive with growing algae and plants. I don't see evidence of that now. I'm planning to collect some water and take it in to work to check it out under the microscope. I'll definitely let you know what I find, but in the meantime, here are some additional photos.  There is still some of the scum/foam on the surface of the pond, mainly on the north side. It's pretty clear that the circulation of the water in the pond is pretty limited with most of it on the south side.  If I can borrow an oxygen meter, I'll try to measure oxygen levels in various locations in the pond. Stay tune for that.   

Friday 4/3/2021 (8 am) I heard last night that the surface of the pond was covered with bubbles, so I visited first thing this morning. I arrived before the fountain came on. There was a gentle rain falling and lots of geese poop on the slope of the pond adjacent to the sidewalk (hint all: source of phosphorus and nitrogen).  The pond was indeed covered with small bubbles. The color of the pond has changed significantly since it was treated. While it was green, the water was clear and there were no bubbles on the surface. This photo was taken on 4/15/2020, about a week before the chemical treatment. Back to the pond this morning (4/30/2021); the aerator came on around 8:05 am. You can see the bubbles forming around the fountain and spreading out across the pond. The inert ingredients in the pesticide formulations are surfactants (soap is a surfactant) so the bubbles are not unexpected. In my opinion, the treatments have not improved the condition of the pond. Instead it is now grey...

This morning on a walk I noticed that the pond had a thick foam/scum on the northern side. I took a few photos and then didn't think too much about it until I saw a post on the Cornell Woods FB group. I learned with Sarah Allen, president of the Cornell Woods Homeowner's Association that the chemicals Clipper, Tribune, and SeClear were added this morning. My mom said then she puts in too much algaecide, SeClear in the pool it foams like this.  The Safety Data sheets for the three chemicals are: Tribune: https://www.cdms.net/ldat/mp9UM003.pdf Clipper: https://www.washtenaw.org/DocumentCenter/View/17166/Clipper-SDS SeClear: https://www.sepro.com/Documents/SeClear_SDS.pdf I went back this evening to check on the pond and to take several samples as I still have test kits at home from teaching a remote lab in the Fall.  The pH was 7.6, phosphate level was about 0.25-0.5 mg/L, and the nitrate level was below detection limits.  I also took a few more photos. The foam looks almo...