Consultations

Much like with mapping services, consultation services allow for an insight into the health of a pond, dam, or pre-construction site. Having a professional on-site to report on conditions, gather crucial information and provide recommendations is a great way to better understand your property. AES staff have the experience and expertise necessary to provide:

AES will visit your pond to collect data and gather information on water quality, watershed, aquatic weed presence, and issues that may need to be addressed.

The biologists will also speak with you in detail regarding your goals and visions for the pond, before producing a final consultation report detailing their findings. This report will outline:

• An analysis of the pond and watershed, outlining any aquatic vegetation as well as its relative abundance and treatment recommendations
• Results of water quality tests performed on site with an evaluation of the findings
• Spillway and outlet conditions and a summary of findings
• A final summary of management recommendations based on your goals for the pond

Dams, as with all pond features, need maintenance to ensure that they continue to keep your pond full without leakage or failure. Likewise, spillways and outlet systems often experience high water volume, and therefore must be regularly inspected to ensure that they continue to operate as intended. A dam and outlet consultation can guide pond-owners in the right direction, providing them with the data they need to make informed decisions regarding dam and outlet maintenance. The final report provided with this service will outline:

• The current state of your dam and outlet system including dam and spillway dimension measurements, vegetation concerns, seepage concerns, animal activity and outlet system measurements
• An assessment of the erosion in heavy-flow locations such as the emergency spillway, the plunge pool, and upstream face of the dam
• An assessment of outlet system and spillway health, corrosion issues, or other mechanical faults
• Final recommendations to improve the health of the outlet system, often including locations where riprap would be beneficial, recommendations for what vegetation to remove from the dam, dam seepage mitigation recommendations, and animal removal recommendations.

In a pre-construction assessment, also referred to as a feasibility study, AES will visit the proposed lake site to survey the surrounding area as well as any proposed additional sites for pond construction. The assessment provides valuable information on water supply, soil characteristics, watershed size and dam feasibility to save the property owner money and headache when planning the location of a future pond. The final feasibility report details:

• Available watershed, to determine whether there will be sufficient inflow to support a lake large enough to satisfy the owner’s goals and vision
• Soil characteristics, determining locations for possible test pools to determine whether the soil on site is appropriate for pond construction or if soil will need to be brought in
• Topography and dam feasibility, determining where a dam could be constructed to optimize the landowner’s budget and impound sufficient water to meet the intended vision and goals for the lake.