There are three reasons for turning off the aeration in the winter:

1. Safety is our first concern. The aeration system pushes air through the water. If we kept the system running in the winter it would make the ice on our lakes unstable and not suited to anyone safely being on the ice at any time.
2. The most important time for aeration is in the summer months when conditions significantly reduce oxygen, causing harm to fish and increasing algae and weeds due to the inability to treat in low oxygen. We could aerate in the winter, and there are some benefits. However, we would need to move the diffusers that circulate air into shallow water to provide the fish population more safety from circulating the coldest water near the surface to the deeper water where they congregate. This action would increase the risk to people on the ice even further. Additionally, fish slow their activity, eating, and oxygen intake in winter, resulting in less impact from lower oxygen content than in summer.
3. Canada Geese are attracted to the open water. Having open water year-round would significantly increase the goose population in Old Farm Lakes and the oversaturate nitrates in our lakes (and on our sidewalks). These are problems we would like to avoid.