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January 26, 2024 <br />Don Peterson <br />Page 12 of 21 <br />Reference: Water Quality Assessment of Silver View Pond, Mounds View, MN <br />Silver View Pond <br />Internal TP <br />Load - Oxic <br />26% <br />Internal TP <br />Load - Anoxic <br />8% <br />External TP <br />Load <br />66% <br />Figure 5. Proportion of phosphorus loads from external and internal sources. <br />Recommendations for Water Quality Improvement <br />There is not one single management activity that will improve water quality in Silver View Pond, as there <br />are several factors contributing to poor water quality. The following sections contain recommendations on <br />management activities that will function to reduce nutrient delivery and/or sediment release in Silver View <br />Pond to improve water quality conditions. <br />VEGETATION MANAGEMENT <br />The aquatic vegetation community in Silver View Pond is fairly diverse and consists of native species. While <br />the density of plants may be a visual nuisance to some residents, the diversity and composition of species <br />present provide habitat, food resources for wildlife, and nutrient uptake. Anecdotally, area residents have <br />reported dense algae growth in Silver View Pond. The data collected this summer along with visual <br />observations by Stantec staff on multiple occasions indicate that floating -leaved plants like watermeal often <br />exhibited full surface coverage of the pond, resembling an algae bloom. Chlorophyll -a concentrations in <br />Silver View Pond are elevated which indicates algae growth in addition to abundant growth of macrophytes. <br />As mentioned above, removal of aquatic plants in small, shallow ponds can exacerbate growth of algae due <br />to the increased light availability through the water column. Dense algae growth provides far less ecological <br />value to wildlife and aquatic organisms than a macrophyte-dominated system. Consequently, we do not <br />recommend any interventions to manage the submerged aquatic vegetation in Silver View Pond. <br />Nutrient reduction and mechanical removal are the only options for reducing floating -leaved vegetation. <br />Given the diverse and quality of existing native species in the submerged plant community, herbicide <br />treatment to floating -leaved vegetation would not be advised due to the deleterious effects on the native <br />community in this system. There may be some benefits to skimming the duckweed and/or watermeal from <br />Design with community in mind <br />