Winter Lake aeration is important. When ice forms on a lake it stops sunlight penetrating the aquatic plants, this cause the plants to die and release carbon dioxide into the water. If the ice lasts for along time your lakes can start to loose oxygen. The way to cure this problem is to have your aerators running during the night. This wont stop all the ice but will put valuable oxygen into the water. Becuase the oxygen is put into the water by throwing the water into the air and causing water disruption the lake aerators stop a large majority of ice forming. The other thing about using lake aerators in the winter is you lake will be the only one around that can be fished due to the lake aeration clearing the ice.