Well, even though we are sitting under 10″ of snow and 12″ of ice, the staff at WLPR is not hibernating. This time of the year is definitely a well-deserved break from the field, we are busy with other important tasks. We have many training meetings, DNR update meetings, and client meetings we attend during the off season. We are dedicated to staying on top of all the new industry news and staying informed of new products/techniques so we can offer them to our clients. We attend many home-owner association meetings and business meetings to keep our clients updated with their management plans.
We still find time to do some necessary field work. Greg, our service technician is always on call for aeration maintenance when your much needed aeration system decides to take a break during the heart of winter. We have saved a few already this year! Our biologists will be out drilling holes in the ice to measure sediment (sludge) depths in many storm-water basins so our clients maintain compliance with their permit requirements.
Our office has been in a little disarray this winter. We just completed renovation of our corporate office by adding additional office space and a larger conference room to accommodate the additional staff that have been recently added to service our customers.
In other news, there has been a lot of anxiety in the aquatic application industry over the past year. The Federal Government along with EPA is requiring additional permitting for applying aquatic pesticides to all waters. The NPDES (National Pollution Discharge Elimination System) permit program controls water pollution by regulating point sources that discharge pollutants into waters of the United States. We do not know exactly yet how this is going to affect our business here in Wisconsin as the final rulings have yet to be determined. Our DNR, industry leaders, and support groups have been working very close with the EPA to keep our impacts to a minimum. We will update our website once we know the final details of the permit and how it will affect our clients. The Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration Foundation (AERF) provides a link on their website to keep track of your states expected changes. Visit their website at www.aquatics.org/npdes_state.htm for further detail.
It’s definitely not too early to start thinking about your lake or pond management plans and goals for 2011. Feel free to call or stop by our offices to go over your management plan. We have many to get through so don’t wait until the algae is growing, start planning now. We look forward to hearing from you!