After one year of PondMedics implementing a monthly ANS (aquatic nuisance species) survey using submersed vegetation detection and mapping technology, North Texas’ largest privately held lake is weed free for the first time in more than 10 years.

“Prior to retaining PondMedics, our form of aquatic weed control was too little, too late.  We would start spraying weeds when we saw them topping out, they had already reached their peak growth and were not as susceptible to herbicides.  We just didn’t have a way to perform early detection, so we didn’t know any better,” said the former property manager.

Proactive and early detection is the key.  PondMedics introduced an affordable, routine survey technique – a paradigm shift compared to the way they were previously managing the lake. The process utilizes sonar, GPS and software that detects and quantifies submerged vegetation – even in the deepest water where growth is hard to detect early in the season.  The monthly surveys and reports allow for early treatments, post-treatment monitoring and efficient use of aquatic herbicides by targeting the young submersed vegetation early.

“Now that we have seen the results of early detection and proactive treatments through PondMedics use of technology, I can’t see us ever going back to the way were doing it before.  In the beginning of the process, we thought we were going to be spending twice as much on our lake management as in previous years.  But at the end of the year, we actually saved more money and had a better managed lake thanks to the investment we made in the technology.”

Early detection through sonar mapping is key to successful submersed vegetation control.

Quantifying vegetation amounts and types helps develop an effective control plan.