Bales in the Lake

The bales of straw in the lake were introduced following a very green year: in summer 1993 the water turned very green. The introduction of the bales was reported in the October 1994 University Magazine:

Feeding straw to the lake

The campus lake will be fed straw this year in an effort to keep down the algae blooms which cover it every summer.

Fifteen bales of straw wrapped in wire mesh will shortly be seen floating in the lake. The effect they have will not be noticable until next year, however.

``The bales have an arresting effect on the growth of algae,'' says Gordon Eastham, the University's new supervisor of grounds. ``But they need to be put in the water six months before the algae blooms to have the desired effect.''

The bales, which will be anchored to prevent them drifting, will float at first but will become submerged as they are waterlogged. Marker buoys will be attached so that grounds staff can identify them and remove them after six months.

``It is partly a cosmetic exercise,'' says Gordon, ``but the water quality will be better when there are fewer algae blooms.''

Related pages:

Problems with the lake
More problems with the lake

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