Bärensee, Germany

In Germany, Phoslock is sold under the tradename Bentophos.

The Bärensee is a popular lake used for swimming and fishing which is located within the largest camping area in the Federal German State of Hessen . It is a shallow lake with an average depth of 2.63m, a surface area of 6 ha and a water volume of 156,000 m³.

In total, 11.5 tonnes of Phoslock^®/Bentophos were applied to the lake on 12 and 13 June 2007 to bind phosphate in the water column and prevent phosphorus release from sediments. The application was performed by Bentophos GmbH, the licensee for Phoslock in Germany

In the six months following the treatment, Total Phosphorus levels dropped from 84 µg/L to 25 µg/L. The decline occurred gradually rather than immediately after the application, however this was to be expected given the fact that most of the phosphorus was already incorporated into the biomass when Phoslock/Bentophos was applied. In the three years since the application, the lake has remained open to swimmers and there has been a clear shift in the dominant algal species, away from blue green algae to diatoms.

Application of Phoslock at Bärensee 1