Questions we get asked

We provide personalized aquatic stewardship for private landowners, ranches, HOAs, golf courses, resorts, and — potentially — nonprofits and public land partners. Our work spans three areas: ponds & water features, streams & riparian corridors, and mitigation & compliance.

Park City Pond Services presently works within a couple of hours of Park City. Smaller-scale, recurring work — like routine pond and water feature maintenance — depends on that tighter radius, since travel time and mobilization costs don’t pencil out for that scope of work over long distances. For larger projects — recurring maintenance for larger properties with more water, stream restoration, mitigation and compliance work, PFC assessments, and similar undertakings — we’re launching a companion brand, [High Country Pond & Stream] (www.highcountrypondandstream.com), to serve a much broader footprint across the Intermountain West. The economics of more significant projects can better absorb the travel and mobilization than smaller jobs.

We’re aiming to maintain the concept of personalized attention and the highest quality of work. Every water body and every owner’s priorities are different, and our process is built around understanding both before recommending a path forward.

Expect an initial response within 48 hours. If you’d prefer to talk sooner, you can call Dan directly at 385-215-PCPS.

Yes. our science-based approach supports private waters and the waters of HOAs, golf courses, resorts, conservation nonprofits, easement holders, and public land partnerships — including stormwater pond stewardship and PFC-based assessment work.

Start with a consultation. For smaller water features close to our home base, we offer a brief site visit and estimate at no cost. For ponds and larger water features, we offer a paid consultation that includes a property walkthrough, water assessment, and a detailed written report of observations and recommendations.

Both. Many clients start with a cleanup — especially if a pond has years of deferred maintenance — before moving into recurring stewardship. Recurring visits (weekly, semi-weekly, or monthly) focus on aesthetics, clarity, and algae/vegetation management. We recommend starting recurring service in April, getting ahead of the season rather than catching up once algae is already established.

Our approach follows Integrated Pest Management (IPM) principles — prevention, monitoring, and root-cause solutions first, with chemical treatment reserved as a targeted, reactive tool rather than a default. When chemical treatment is warranted, it’s applied by a licensed commercial pesticide applicator.

We’re currently piloting a chemical-free approach to recurring pond maintenance, relying on riparian buffers, light infiltration management, nutrient management, biological treatments, and mechanical methods. This pilot is currently limited to ponds already in good condition, with pricing reflecting the added labor and materials involved. Ask us if your pond is a good fit.

Cyanobacteria and other harmful algae blooms can pose real risks to people, pets, livestock, and wildlife. We identify bloom conditions early and implement targeted treatment, backed by a licensed commercial pesticide applicator.

We assess sediment buildup through visual inspection, sludge sampling, and sonar-based comparison against original design dimensions to help clarify whether dredging, targeted treatment, or both make sense. Note: we assess and guide you through the process, but we don’t perform dredging itself.

Yes — we survey ponds with sonar equipment and mapping software to produce a volumetric estimate, useful for treatment calculations, dredging/restoration planning, and water storage documentation.

We’re actively learning the finer points of koi pond care and welcome the chance to grow alongside clients who have koi ponds.

Yes — through design review. We can flag design elements likely to cause long-term problems (depth, circulation, aeration, habitat) before construction, whether you’re planning a new pond or evaluating a renovation.

We’re expanding into small-scale water feature construction — think backyard streams or rocky fountain features, not large builds. This is new territory for us; we’re starting with simpler projects and pricing accordingly while we build experience.

Yes — we work with licensed hatcheries to help select and introduce the right fish species for your water, goals, and region.

Yes, we offer pre-sale and pre-purchase assessments so you know exactly what you’re working with and what it’s worth.

This is an emerging area for us. Many HOA and golf course ponds serve a stormwater function, not just aesthetics — we’re building capacity to help ensure they continue performing as designed, including capacity/sediment monitoring, water quality checks, and documentation for permit compliance.

A stream/riparian consultation — a property walk and honest assessment of conditions — is typically the starting point, often leading to a follow-up like a PFC evaluation or GIS mapping.

Proper Functioning Condition (PFC) is a scientifically established framework for evaluating stream, riparian, and wetland health. We determine whether your corridor is functioning properly, at risk, or non-functional, and provide actionable recommendations — useful for baseline documentation, conservation planning, regulatory compliance, and prioritizing restoration investment.

Yes — we assess bank conditions and implement stabilization using the right mix of bioengineering, rock work, and vegetation for lasting results.

We use low-tech, natural methods — including beaver dam analogs and simple rock or log structures — to slow water, spread it out, and rebuild stream and meadow function over time, often at a fraction of the cost of heavily engineered restoration.

These are emerging services for us. Fish population assessments (species composition, abundance, age structure) support trophy management, leasing, or long-term monitoring needs. Stream water quality monitoring covers baseline testing for dissolved oxygen, temperature, pH, and other parameters critical to fish health.

This is an area we’re expanding into. We can help you understand whether a delineation is needed for your project, and plan to be able to take on smaller projects in the future. If the project is something we lack the capacity to take on, we can connect you with the right resources,

Water rights are a complex, specialized area outside our scope — we’re happy to refer you to the right water rights attorney or engineer.

Aquatic and riparian permitting often involves overlapping federal, state, and local jurisdictions. We’ve worked on both the agency side and applicant side of permitting, and help you understand requirements, prepare application materials, and coordinate with agencies.

Yes — easements and mitigation agreements require consistent, defensible monitoring to demonstrate compliance and track outcomes over time. We conduct systematic monitoring and produce reports that satisfy regulatory and easement requirements.

Yes — we use GIS and mapping technology to document and analyze a property’s water resources (streams, riparian areas, ponds, wetlands), producing a spatial record and report for planning, restoration prioritization, or regulatory/easement reporting.

Yes. Dan has secured roughly $4 million in grant and project-implementation funding across his career, and brings that experience to writing applications that clearly communicate a project’s goals, methods, and ecological value.

This is an emerging service area for us — many municipalities regulate development near streams, ponds, and wetlands through riparian buffer ordinances, and we’re building capacity to help prepare the technical documentation (assessments, mapping, reporting) that supports a variance request.

Dan holds a B.S. and M.S. in Environmental Science from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, with graduate research in Aquatic Resource Ecology focused on road crossing impacts on fish assemblages, fish passage, and habitats. For more than two decades, he’s worked in fish and aquatic ecology, water quality improvement, stream and meadow restoration, and wildlife mitigation across federal, state, nonprofit, and private roles — including running a nonprofit focused on water quality through agricultural and land management practices, and a leadership role at a premier pond maintenance company overseeing environmental permitting and reporting, daily operations, and filling in wherever needed.