Webinar video highlights key findings—including $6M in savings—from a year-long bioremediation program for lagoon sludge reduction at a municipal wastewater treatment plant.
In this 31-minute video, Heather Jennings, PE, Director of Probiotic Solutions®, and Diego Lopez, Chief Plant Operator for the City of Lemoore, Calif., Wastewater Treatment Plant discuss highlights from the year-long study of a bioremediation program (using Bio Energizer®) for lagoon sludge reduction at a municipal wastewater treatment plant.
In the study, the operators of a municipal wastewater treatment facility with 4 lagoons had determined that their 2 primary lagoons—10-foot-deep, with 25-million-gallon holding capacity each—had reached sludge depths of 5–7 feet, putting the lagoons at risk of upset and seriously impacting the facility’s wastewater processing capacity.
A bioremediation plan was implemented that included the use of a biostimulant to support microbial reduction of the organic solids in the system. Sludge judging was performed for the 2 primary lagoons at baseline and at quarterly intervals over a one-year period to measure the impact of the bioremediation plan on sludge reduction.
The results of ATP and DNA analyses pointed out the often-misunderstood fact that wastewater treatment facility lagoon sludge is not inert: it is the most biologically active layer of the water column and can be efficiently controlled and reduced through proper bioremediation interventions
At the end of the one-year bioremediation plan, sludge depth for the 2 lagoons had been reduced by an average of 45%, with sludge depth at some sample points completely reduced to zero. This represented 17,800 dry tons of sludge that did not need to be mechanically removed and hauled to a disposal location, a potential savings to the treatment facility of over $6 million.
To read the full report in the Lagoons: Under the Surface white paper, CLICK HERE.
Related Posts
China—Hot Land for Global Novel Fertilizer
“China—Hot Land for Global Novel Fertilizer,” is a recent AgroPages feature article that includes Bio Huma Netics—with its Huma Gro® product line—among the top companies actively marketing novel fertilizers to China. Read the story at https://news.agropages.com/News/NewsDetail—15144.htm. cirrus cloud .
Land-Applied Sewage: Do Farmers Benefit from Recycled Sewage?
While controversial among activists and consumers, land application of septic and sewage sludge is not a new practice. Farmers have been land-applying raw sewage––at one time called "Night Soil"––to fields and crops for centuries.
Nothing in Farming Is Ever Easy
Circa late-1990s. I was sitting at Inness Farm Supply, a plate of BBQ on my lap, listening to the Monsanto rep carry on about the advantages of Roundup Ready Corn. After hearing all the benefits, I asked THE question. “Won’t this accelerate weed resistance?” She looked at me like she wanted to summon security. Then she emphatically assured the group that resistance was not a possibility. I just smiled and replied that nature always finds a way. It did. In 2000, resistant horseweed was discovered on the East Coast. Today, 18 weed species across 38 states are resistant to glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup.
