Supporting flourishing water ecosystems with Otterbine aerators
To maintain clear, healthy lakes and ponds in the face of rising temperatures, Otterbine pond aerators are the unparalleled choice.
Following the warmest spring on record, the summer of 2025 saw UK waters dramatically affected by the high temperatures. Oxygen deficiencies in ponds and lakes led to multiple cases of mass fish kills and unattractive, bad smelling water making national headlines as it discouraged visitors from venues nationwide.
Our water division Reesink Hydro-Scapes provides cost-effective solutions that prevent oxygen deficiencies and help ponds and lakes flourish with Otterbine aerators. From surface spray aspirators that deliver vertical circulation to horizontal aspirators for lakes up to 12ft in depth, Otterbine’s best-in-class pond aeration systems are recognised for improving water quality.
Oxygen deficiencies are common when water maintenance doesn’t include aeration, causing issues such as thermal stratification where different-temperature layers stratify or separate, and stop oxygen reaching the lower levels. Excess nutrients like phosphorus and nitrogen also increase, producing algae that depletes the water’s oxygen supply and forms unattractive mats on the surface. Over time, this can lead to eutrophication, which is fatal for fish habitats.
Creating currents that eliminate stagnant water, aeration mixes cool water at the bottom of a lake or pond with warm water at the surface – so more water has contact with the air, helping prevent thermal stratification. Positive aerobic bacteria then receive the oxygen needed to break up the dead or decaying organic matter.
Otterbine pond aeration has several other benefits, such as being more environmentally friendly than chemical fertilisers and disrupting the breeding cycles of mosquitos and other pests. This all works together to support a thriving water ecosystem, reinstating ponds and lakes as the natural draw that they are for visitors to relax and enjoy.
With eight of the last 10 summers experiencing temperatures above the long-term average has led the Royal Meteorological Society to back that as a trend set to continue. In order not to be suffer similar water problems in 2026, Otterbine recommends those with ponds and lakes consider their aeration options now.