By: Joe Holz, Director of Sales | Jan. 15, 2015
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Many people fail to engage in any active management of their pond because they don’t fully realize the value of it. It’s always important to ask the question, “What is my pond worth?” OK, so you wouldn’t dream of swimming in your pond, and it’s too small for a boat, but it still has a lot of value that you may not appreciate. If you just see the surface of the water and think of it simply as an obstacle in the landscape, you are missing it. That pond is 3-dimensional. A one acre pond with an average 5 feet of depth is 1,630,000 gallons. If all of that water were above ground instead of below it, then it would be a lot more impressive in the landscape.

Water buffers temperatures and allows a lush landscape to develop around it. Nothing in the landscape will have more focus than water. It attracts wildlife and its own special ecosystem. Some parts of this ecosystem are more welcome than others. This is where management comes into play. You can actively manage a pond and enjoy the natural benefits.

With regard to value, real estate adjoining water has a higher value, if it is maintained. If it has some of the naturally occurring issues like over production of algae, accumulation of trash, and unkempt vegetation along the edges making it look swampy, then it will negatively affect the property value. This is everyone’s problem nearby, since the lower valued property will be used as a comparable property for appraisals.

Many ponds are in commonly owned areas in a neighborhood and may be a retention pond. While the tendency of a home owner’s association, HOA, is to avoid any additional maintenance costs, the cost of management of a pond is not one to avoid, and can dramatically increase your pond worth. If an HOA has a 1 acre pond, they should not ignore it, but think of it as an asset. If this pond were one acre of regular “green space”, think of what would need to be budgeted to keep the common area mowed and maintained?

It may be difficult to realize the full potential of your pond, especially not knowing what’s below the surface. But if you’re able to think of your pond as an asset and compare what you’d spend to keep the equivalent “green space” taken care of, it will be easier to set out a maintenance plan and stick to it. At Kasco Marine, we have several products designed to help take care of your pond. From decorative fountains, to water circulators to beneficial bacteria, we can help you find what you need to maintain your pond and dramatically increase its worth.