Swan Lake Remediation and Resource Recovery

The Swan Lake attraction at Brookfield Zoo is continually in a eutrophic state every year because of nutrient loading. This abundance of nutrients caused by goose droppings leads to an excess growth of duckweed and watermeal. The dissolved oxygen of the lake decreases drastically as a result of these plants covering the lake’s surface, restricting oxygen exchange between the lake and the open air and preventing sunlight from reaching underwater plants that produce dissolved oxygen, thus endangering the fish population. It is crucial to remove the duckweed to reduce nutrient levels and increase the dissolved oxygen in the lake