Author Archives: Aquarius Systems
Protecting Wisconsin Waters for 50 Years
The year 2024 marks the 50th anniversary of Wisconsin’s unique lake law, Chapter 33: Public Inland Waters. The legislature and governor worked together in the early 1970s to establish a collaborative research and management framework that lives on today as the Wisconsin Lakes and Rivers Partnership. The law also created a pathway for landowners around lakes to form Public Inland Lake Protection and Rehabilitation Districts.
Today, over 250 lake districts in Wisconsin undertake lake protection and rehabilitation projects for the benefit of all lake users. As we gather in Stevens Point for the annual convention, we’ll look back at the progress made over 50 years of partnering to protect and restore these waters. We’ll also look ahead to the next 50 years to ensure that future generations of lake lovers will continue our legacy of proactive lake, river and watershed management.
Amphibians are Indicator Species for Water Quality
Amphibians are highly sensitive to changes in their environment, especially when it comes to water quality. As such, they can serve as excellent indicators of the health of aquatic ecosystems, providing valuable insights into the state of the environment and potential problems that may be affecting the water quality.
Amphibians are unique creatures that have the ability to breathe through their skin. This means that they are highly susceptible to any changes in the water quality, as any pollutants or toxins that are present in the water can quickly enter their bodies through their skin. Additionally, amphibians rely on a variety of aquatic habitats for their survival, including streams, ponds, and wetlands. These habitats are also home to a variety of other aquatic organisms, and any changes in water quality can have a ripple effect throughout the entire ecosystem.
Researchers use amphibians as bioindicators to monitor water quality by capturing and analyzing them. They can be used to assess the presence and concentration of pollutants, including heavy metals, pesticides, and other chemicals. Additionally, scientists can measure the physiological responses of amphibians to changes in water quality, such as changes in heart rate, respiration, or behavior.
Amphibians are also used to identify the presence of diseases that may be affecting aquatic ecosystems. For example, the fungal disease chytridiomycosis has caused massive declines in amphibian populations around the world. By monitoring amphibian populations for signs of this disease, researchers can better understand the factors that contribute to its spread and develop strategies to prevent its spread.
Judge Overturns Approval of Herbicide Use in Lake George
Created by melting glaciers thousands of years ago, Lake George is 43,471 acres, 32 mile long, up to 2.5 mile wide and up to 200 feet deep. Located at the southern end of the Adirondack Park in Upstate New York, Lake George is the primary driver of regional tourism, generating $2 billion in annual economic activity.
Lake George is among the clearest and cleanest large lakes in the World. Over 90% of the watershed remains as natural forestland with half of that protected as forever-wild Forest Preserve. And, Lake George serves as the primary source of drinking water for surrounding communities and residents.
Like many lakes, Lake George has been impacted by invasive Eurasian milfoil. First discovered in 1986, it has been managed over the past 30 years at a cost of over $5 million. To date hand-harvesting and matting have been used to control the milfoil, in 2020 186,590 pounds (about 93 tons) of milfoil was removed from Lake George.
The milfoil continues to grow in Lake George and in an effort to eliminate the dense milfoil beds, the Lake George Park Commission, in charge of managing the lake wanted to try aquatic herbicides and received a permit to do so. However, the Lake George Association and a large number of the public raised objections to the use of herbicides in their beloved Lake George.
The Lake George Association felt there were too many unknowns about its impact on nontarget species, to native plants, animals, and even to human health for those people who still use the lake for their drinking water. The association sued to stop the use of the aquatic herbicide use and a state Supreme Court judge ruled in favor of the herbicide treatment.
A Toast to the Aquatic Weed Harvester
Beneath the surface of the blue,
Where creatures swim and plants grow true,
There’s a machine with blades so sharp,
That cuts and gathers in one sharp swoop.
The aquatic weed harvester is its name,
A workhorse of the aquatic world, it tames
The overgrowth that clogs the waterways,
And keeps the streams and rivers clear all day.
It glides with grace, a silent knight,
In search of weeds that clutter sight,
And with a snip, and a slice, it clears the way,
For boats and fish to frolic and play.
The harvester, a friend to all aquatic life,
A defender of the waters, free from strife,
Its blades a symbol of the power to renew,
In a world of blue, it stands proud and true.
So here’s a toast to the aquatic weed harvester,
A hero of the water, a noble trencher,
May it continue to clean the streams and seas,
And keep the aquatic world a place of beauty and peace.
Aquarius Systems’ Technical Sales Representative, Nick, used AI to create this poem with the simple instruction, “write a poem about aquatic weed harvesters.”
Introducing the Aquarius Systems Aquatic Trash Skimmer
Experts say that by 2050 there may be more plastic than fish in the sea. Over 300 million tons of plastic are produced each year and at least 14 million tons of plastic end up in the ocean annually; making up 80% of all marine debris found in surface waters.
In the mid-1970s, Aquarius Systems produced the very first Aquatic Trash Skimmer for use in Venice to remove floating debris from the canals. The Trash Hunter is the first-of-its-kind boat designed for the sole purpose of collecting and removing floating debris from surface water.
See the Trash Hunter in Action
Quieting Underwater Noise to Protect Marine Life
Central Puget Sound is home to several species of threatened and endangered marine mammals, birds, and fish — most notably Southern Resident killer whales, an iconic and beloved species in our region. Underwater noise impacts their ability to feed, communicate, navigate, reproduce, and avoid danger. In fact, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife cites underwater noise as one of the top three threats to the southern resident killer whale population.
The Port of Seattle is important to the region as human residents need port-related services to travel, transport goods between the Pacific Northwest and the rest of the world, and drive the region’s economy. But authorities realize the needs of both humans and marine mammals can be met.
One step to in the goal to making that happen is the Underwater Noise Mitigation and Management Plan. The goal is to reduce underwater noise such as in-water construction and vessel operations.
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Ray Scott: A True Outdoorsman
Ray Scott, was an American outdoorsman who turned bass fishing into a professional sport and founded the Bass Anglers Sportsman Society (B.A.S.S.), died on May 8th; he was 88 years old.
B.A.S.S. is the the world’s largest fishing membership organization and will be his legacy. His contributions and impact on conservation and his advocacy and passion for anglers and the bass fishing sport will continue to carry on as well.
While Ray Scott did not invent the catch and release, his campaign “Don’t Kill Your Catch,” mandated that all tournament competitors’ boats feature an aerated livewell to keep their bass alive. As a result, the catch-and-release ethic caught on so well that more than 90% of all bass anglers today release all or most of the bass they catch.
Scott and the B.A.S.S organization also crusaded against industrial pollution of America’s waterways. In 1970 and ’71, Scott filed some 200 anti-pollution lawsuits, drawing national attention to declining water quality and contributing significantly to passage of the Clean Water Act of 1972.
Scott also advocated for bass fisheries research and had a positive impact on boating safety by requiring tournament competitors to wear personal flotation devices and he convinced boat manufacturers to make emergency shut-off devices — “kill switches” — standard features on motorboats.
Aquarius Systems joined forces with Ray Scott, The Lower Colorado River Authority, Texas Parks & Wildlife, the Tennessee Valley Authority and numerous fishing & environmental groups in giving a demonstration of an Aquatic Plant Harvester for Texas Governor George Bush.
TVA brought their specially designed Aquarius Systems Aquatic Weed Harvester from Guntersville, Alabama to be tested on Lake Bastrop approximately 40 miles southeast of Austin, Texas. During the week long demonstration, research teams rode along on the harvester to study its effectiveness and environmental impact on fisheries.
On the last day of the demo, Ray Scott convinced Governor Bush to come out and take a ride on the harvester. After a quick lesson, the Governor got into the driver’s seat to put the machine through its paces.
Governor Bush stated; “I am an avid fisherman and Ray [Scott] is deeply concerned about fishing, food chains and habitat. He and I had a long talk about how do we make sure Texas lakes are not only accessible to all water users, but are the best places to fish in America. I’d love to be the governor to stand up and say anybody can put their bass boat in our lake and catch the biggest fish in America. And so the question is, is there a way to manage hydrilla and at the same time be able to have water use for all our citizens, including the best bass fishing in America? This harvester is a good way to get it all done.”
This demonstration was in response to overwhelming public pressure to find alternatives to using herbicides in Texas lakes to manage excessive aquatic vegetation.
Ray Scott’s dedication to outdoor sports landed him in the pages of Field & Stream Magazine — along with President Teddy Roosevelt, environmentalist Rachel Carson and naturalist/conservationist Aldo Leopold — among 20 individuals who most influenced outdoor sports during the 20th Century.
Ray Scott remained mostly out of the public eye in the years prior to his death, but his impact will continue to be felt in the sportfishing industry.
The Pollution Solution
Experts say that by 2050 there may be more plastic than fish in the sea. It is found in every region of the world, from the deepest ocean trenches to the most remote islands.
Over 300 million tons of plastic are produced each year and at least 14 million tons of plastic end up in the ocean annually; making up 80% of all marine debris found in surface waters. And the problem is continues to grow!
As recently as ten years ago, when the pollution problem was already huge, there was little global awareness and even less of a movement to stop the problem. Although you may not have read about plastic pollution or microplastics or The Great Pacific Garbage Patch in the news, others were aware of the issues and were utilizing Aquarius Systems’ equipment to scoop the debris from rivers, lakes and reservoirs.
Back in the mid-1970’s, officials in Venice, Italy, needed a way to remove the floating debris from the canals, which were openly used as a dumpster. An Aquatic Weed Harvester was modified with collection wings and a few other upgrades. The resulting machine, that we like to call the Trash Hunter, was exported to Venice.
The Trash Hunter is the first-of-its-kind boat designed for the sole purpose of collecting and removing floating debris from surface water. This development gave birth to the state-of-the-art Marine Debris Skimmers produced today. The modern machines have been re-engineered from the original rudimentary design to feature a catamaran hull for stability, adjustable collections flares to enable operators to capture floating items and clean out tight corners, and an onboard conveyor containment system to retain, dewater and unload the debris.
Rivers are the main source of plastic contamination found in the oceans. It originates from land-based debris found in urban and stormwater runoff, littering, inadequate waste disposal and management, industrial activities and illegal dumping. Rivers, and the floating debris fed into them, flow into the ocean. The mobile Aquarius Systems’ Aquatic Trash Hunters are used on many rivers, skimming to capture and remove the floating debris and offloaded it into shore-based dumpsters.
The Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District has cleaned and maintained the Milwaukee river system within the inner harbor area of Lake Michigan with a river skimmer boat for over 20 years. Their current vessel, the Lynyrd Skymmr Aquatic Trash Hunter, is 50-feet long and scoops up tree trunks, branches, plastic containers, trash, road construction barrels, tires, and dead fish. In 2017, the river skimmer boat worked on Milwaukee waterways for 128 days, collecting 1,545 cubic yards of debris. That’s enough to fill over 77 commercial-size 20-yard dumpsters.
Can you visualize 1,545 cubic yards? I couldn’t either, but a little research revealed that a washing machine is a little smaller in size than a cubic yard. Milwaukee pulled 1,545 cubic yards; which is like removing 1,545 washing machines from the inner harbor area — and preventing that debris from entering Lake Michigan.
The Lower Passaic River is one of the most polluted waterways in the United States. The Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission uses a skimmer boat to sweep floatables from a ten-mile stretch of the Passaic River, garbage which would otherwise reach the Atlantic Ocean. The skimmer boat which acts like a street sweeper for the river removes floating debris such as trees, plastic bags, plastic bottles, soccer balls, etc.
The program, which started in 1998, has collected about 372 tons (744,000 pounds) of trash and debris annually. Imagine having to move 744,000 gallons of paint comparison! That is the amount of trash being pulled from the river. Forty percent of the garbage removed from the river is plastic, most of which is plastic bottles.
A global solution to the source needs to be found, whether it is a ban on single-use plastic, better recycling, or investing in proper waste management operation. And for nearly 50 years Aquarius Systems Aquatic Trash Skimmer has been part of the Pollution Solution!
Read More about the Milwaukee River Skimmer
See the Passaic Valley Trash Skimmer in Action
Learn More about Aquatic Trash Skimmers
Late Winter Freeze Means Less Algae
When it comes to knowing a thing or two about ice covered lakes, our friends to north in Canada have quite a bit of experience! However, there is actually very little data on under-ice lake ecology. The aquatic scientists at McGill University in Montreal, Canada, were interested in how climate change might affect lake ecosystems.
Climate change has caused lake ice to form later in the winter and thaw earlier in the spring. Their research has revealed that the timing of when ice forms on lakes in the winter can have big effects on life in the water the following spring and summer.
The delay of ice forming allows the algae to continue to photosynthesis for longer, allowing the zooplankton that feed on the algae to survive throughout the winter. When the ice begins to melt those hungry zooplankton begin eating the new spring algae long before other species even become active.
While the research is just the tip of the iceberg, it provided a snapshot of the changes to the population of algae and zooplankton which in turn can potentially disrupt the aquatic food web.
Water Solutions on a Global Scale
Milwaukee, Wisconsin has earned a global reputation as the freshwater technology capital of the U.S. With 238 water technology businesses in the region, Milwaukee is the ideal location for The Water Council, an organization dedicated to solving critical global water challenges and providing expertise in water stewardship.
Naval officers representing 30 countries recently visited the Global Water Center to learn what private companies, nongovernmental organizations and universities are doing to address worldwide water crises.
The Naval Officers heard from a business that uses sensors to measure water levels to help communities understand flood risks; a septage treatment system project that reduced human exposure to pathogens in fecal sludge and visited the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee School of Freshwater Sciences to learn about research happening there.
Aquarius Systems, a member of The Water Council was honored to be invited to explain how our machines such as the Aquatic Vegetation Cutters, Trash Skimmers and Amphibious Excavators help clear the surfaces of lakes and river, allowing them to continue using the water for drinking, irrigation, and hydropower.
As naval leaders, they can use what they learned to address water problems in their own countries. Water is the most basic of necessities and sharing local expertise is in the best interest of everyone.
Aquarius Systems 