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Free · Satellite screen · ponds and lakes 1 acre and up

Your pond is green again. See where it stands, free.

Algae keeps coming back because the cause is usually in the bottom, not the water. Trace your pond or lake and we'll read its satellite history. Ten quick questions help tell whether it's fed from outside (runoff you can cut off) or from the inside (nutrients stored in the bottom mud that algaecide and dye won't remove). You get a preliminary read by email, and a scientist follows up. No account needed.

For homeowners, HOA boards and property managers. We're independent scientists: we guide you through working with the right vendor, and take no referral fees. You get a straight answer you can act on, or take to your board.

Trace your water

Search your area (or use your location), then tap around the shoreline on the satellite map.

We read it from space

Years of satellite images of the water inside your outline, plus your local rain, heat and wind.

You get a preliminary read

By email, and right here on this page, usually within the hour. A scientist then reviews it and follows up.

1 · Trace your pond *
Pan to your pond or lake, then tap around its edge (3+ points).

We keep a named record of every read so you (or your board) can come back to it.

Private by default — only you and our team can see it. Public adds it to the community map.

A rough guess is fine, in feet or meters. Deep water can form layers in summer, which changes the read.

4 · Fresh or salt water?

It changes the answer: algae in fresh water usually run on phosphorus, in salt and brackish water on nitrogen.

6 · Have measurements or photos? (optional)

Past lab results, oxygen or nutrient readings, or just a photo of the pond. CSV, Excel, PDF or image. Up to 3 files, 3 MB each. Real data sharpens the read a lot.

7 · 10 questions a scientist would ask (optional, but they help the most)

Works for any pond, any size. Each answer nudges the needle toward an outside cause or an inside one. It updates as you go, and we send your answers to the scientist with your read.

What is it, roughly?

Sets the context and whether satellites can see it.

How deep, and does it go still in summer?

Deep, calm water forms layers in summer: the bottom runs out of oxygen and leaks phosphorus.

Does anything flow INTO it?

A pipe or ditch is a delivery route for outside nutrients.

What's within a few hundred feet of the shore?

Pick the biggest contributor.

When do the blooms show up?

The single most useful clue.

Over the year, does it clear up?

Helps us read your satellite calendar.

How long has it been blooming, and the trend?

Years of worsening blooms point to a loaded bottom.

Seen any of these? (pick the strongest)

Signs the bottom is airless and recycling nutrients.

Tried any treatments? Do blooms bounce back?

Fast rebound means the bottom keeps re-loading the water.

Does water leave through an outlet?

A pond with no outlet keeps everything that washes in; one that flushes sends it on downstream.

8 · Your details
Prefer to talk first? Talk to a scientist →