What is Water Aeration?

Water aeration is the process of adding oxygen to water by increasing its exposure to air. It involves various techniques and equipment to introduce air or create turbulence in the water, allowing for the exchange of gases and promoting the dissolution of oxygen.

Water aeration helps improve water quality, supports the health of aquatic organisms, and mitigates issues like stagnant water, foul odours, and excessive algae growth.

What is Diffuser Based Aeration?

Diffuser based aeration systems are a proven and effective approach for mixing waterbodies and raising dissolved oxygen levels, which is vital for a healthy waterway.

Each diffuser acts as an airlift pump entraining water from throughout the water column within the rising bubble plume, which then spreads across the surface where it is oxygenated by the atmosphere before heading back towards the bed and diffuser.

Diffused Aeration for Water Quality

Some waterways are less affected by wind movement than others which can result in ecological imbalances. These waterbodies can become stagnant, resulting in excessive weed growth and odours. Diffuser based aeration ensures that water quality is maintained.

thermal stratification oxygen levels in water

Specifically during the summer months, waterways can also suffer from thermal stratification. This is the process of a waterbody developing layers which differ in temperature and oxygen levels. At the surface of the water, there is warmer, oxygen rich water and at the bottom there is a layer of cooler water with low oxygen levels. These layers are separated by what is known as the Thermocline Layer, which differs in density to the other layers. As a result of this, the top and bottom layers are prevented from mixing efficiently.

Stratification can have detrimental effects on the quality of a waterway, including unpleasant smells, excessive plant growth and fish kills which are all associated with stagnant water. Incorporating appropriate diffuser based aeration into your waterbody helps to maintain healthy ecological conditions and create a balanced habitat, therefore avoiding these issues.

Aeration systems are used to

Combat problems associated with stagnation and odour generation
Control duckweed in canals
Reduce ice formation in winter
Reduce nutrient pollutant mobilisation from sediment
Consolidate sediments through the breakdown of organic components
Increase the diversity of benthic aquatic invertebrate fauna

Is your waterbody suffering from blue green algae? A mixing system might be right for you.

Traditional Diffuser Based Aeration Systems

Traditional diffuser – based aeration systems are designed around individual airlines feeding each diffuser, which requires deployment of multiple airlines. In these systems, the airflow to each diffuser unit is manually balanced via a bankside manifold.

As such, traditional systems are difficult to implement successfully on linear waterbodies and require long lengths of multiple airlines to be deployed. Additionally, the airflow has to be balanced across multiple diffusers over extended distances which is extremely problematic.