{"id":35160,"date":"2022-03-21T11:11:11","date_gmt":"2022-03-21T15:11:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/?p=35160"},"modified":"2022-03-21T11:11:11","modified_gmt":"2022-03-21T15:11:11","slug":"woodchip-bioreactor-works-to-protect-lake-george-removing-algae-causing-nitrates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2022\/03\/woodchip-bioreactor-works-to-protect-lake-george-removing-algae-causing-nitrates\/","title":{"rendered":"Woodchip Bioreactor Works To Protect Lake George, Removing Algae-Causing Nitrates"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
A monitoring study by the LGA, Lake George Waterkeeper and the town of Bolton, found that this woodchip bioreactor removed 38 percent of nitrate from the wastewater that flowed through it.
Courtesy LGA<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In what the Lake George Association believes to be the world\u2019s first use of a woodchip bioreactor at a municipal wastewater treatment plant, the Town of Bolton is using woodchips to reduce the release of algae-causing nitrate into groundwater and a tributary that feeds Lake George.<\/p>\n

A 27-month monitoring study conducted by the LGA, Lake George Waterkeeper and the town, found that the town\u2019s woodchip bioreactor removed 38 percent of nitrate from the wastewater that flowed through it, compared to 0 percent removal of nitrate from the rest of the plant\u2019s effluent stream.<\/p>\n

The study was funded by a Lake Champlain Sea Grant.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Nitrate is a chemical compound present in organic waste that, when discharged to water in high quantities and over long periods of time can result in human and ecosystem health problems and foster the growth of algae, including harmful algal blooms (HABs). The Bolton wastewater treatment plant was constructed in the late 1950s and early 1960s and, like other plants of that era, is lacking the denitrification stage found in modern-day plants that converts nitrate to nitrogen gas and releases it harmlessly into the air.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Instead, nitrate is discharged as part of the effluent to sand infiltration beds where it enters the groundwater and sometimes resurfaces and flows into nearby tributaries, the LGA said. The bioreactor adds a wholly natural denitrification process to Bolton\u2019s treatment capabilities.<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span>When wastewater is diverted from the treatment plant through the bioreactor\u2014an underground cell, 20 feet wide and 100 feet long, filled with a bed of Adirondack woodchips four feet deep\u2014bacteria in the water feed on carbon from the chips and take their oxygen from the nitrate, converting it to nitrogen gas. Officials said the process has been widely used in treating high-nitrate runoff from agricultural lands in the Midwest for more than a decade.<\/p>\n

The Bolton bioreactor was the brainchild of the town\u2019s consulting engineer, Kathy Suozzo, and was funded by a $50,000 grant from The FUND for Lake George, which has since merged with the LGA. It was constructed by the town\u2019s treatment plant and public works staffs, with volunteer assistance from local logging contractor Barry Kincaid, who supplied the woodchips.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It began operation as a demonstration project in October 2018 and treated approximately 30 percent of the plant\u2019s total wastewater flow until being temporarily taken offline in June 2021 for maintenance and structural improvements.<\/p>\n

Officials said the demonstration project was so successful that the town applied for and recently received a state Water Quality Improvement Project grant of $246,000 for the construction of two additional bioreactors. It is expected that the three together will be capable of treating all of the town\u2019s wastewater flow, which ranges from 80,000-275,000 gallons per day, depending on the time of year.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were absolutely thrilled to partner with the LGA on this demonstration project and can\u2019t wait to expand and improve upon Bolton\u2019s world-leading use of this natural process to protect Lake George,\u201d said Bolton Supervisor Ron Conover. \u201cI want to thank our treatment plant operators, Matt Coon and Justin Persons, for embracing and quickly becoming experts in this technology. The process may sound simple on the surface, but it requires a very careful balancing of a wide variety of complex factors to ensure that the bacteria are working to their optimum levels.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Town of Bolton is leading by example in its use of a renewable natural resource\u2014 woodchips\u2014to protect an irreplaceable natural treasure, Lake George,\u201d said LGA President Eric Siy. \u201cThe bioreactor exemplifies the value of the committed public-private partnerships that are at the heart of the LGA\u2019s broader Lake protection program. Together with Bolton and our other partners, we are not only providing an unprecedented level of protection, Lake George is becoming a recognized model for freshwater protection around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOver the past two years, our study demonstrated conclusively that the woodchip bioreactor is an effective, affordable and environmentally compatible nitrate-reduction tool for smaller municipal treatment plants like Bolton\u2019s that were constructed decades ago, prior to the advent of denitrification technology,\u201d said Lake George Waterkeeper Chris Navitsky, who conducted the study along with water quality scientist and LGA science advisor Dr. Jim Sutherland. \u201cWe look forward to working with the town in the months ahead to further refine its processes for the long-term health of the Lake and the benefit of other communities who can learn from Bolton\u2019s success.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Waterkeeper is a program of the LGA.<\/p>\n

Sutherland, the principal researcher, said the research team is planning to write a peer-reviewed scientific journal manuscript to describe and share the project with other scientists.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis will be an extremely important publication that needs to be shared globally,\u201d he said. \u201cWe took a concept previously applied to agriculture and aquaculture and developed the first in-situ, real-time application that successfully reduces reactive nitrogen in wastewater from entering the aquatic ecosystem.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cReactive nitrogen is a problem globally and this Lake George demonstration project has huge implications and potential application around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cExcess nutrient loading on Lake George threatens local biodiversity, ecology, and water quality and spans beyond the Lake George drainage basin into the Lake Champlain drainage basin,\u201d said Dr. Kris Stepenuck, extension program leader for Lake Champlain Sea Grant and extension associate professor of watershed science, policy and education at the University of Vermont. \u201cWhat\u2019s good for Lake George is good for Lake Champlain, and we are pleased to have provided the funding for this very important study.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Lake Champlain Sea Grant is a cooperative effort of the University of Vermont and SUNY Plattsburgh.<\/p>\n

The full bioreactor study can be found online at lakegeorgeassociation.org\/bioreactor-study.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In what the Lake George Association believes to be the world\u2019s first use of a woodchip bioreactor at a municipal wastewater treatment plant, the Town of Bolton is using woodchips to reduce the release of algae-causing nitrate into groundwater and a tributary that feeds Lake George. A 27-month monitoring study conducted by the LGA, Lake […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":89,"featured_media":35162,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\r\nWoodchip Bioreactor Works To Protect Lake George, Removing Algae-Causing Nitrates - Glens Falls Business Journal<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2022\/03\/woodchip-bioreactor-works-to-protect-lake-george-removing-algae-causing-nitrates\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Woodchip Bioreactor Works To Protect Lake George, Removing Algae-Causing Nitrates - Glens Falls Business Journal\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In what the Lake George Association believes to be the world\u2019s first use of a woodchip bioreactor at a municipal wastewater treatment plant, the Town of Bolton is using woodchips to reduce the release of algae-causing nitrate into groundwater and a tributary that feeds Lake George. 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