• Blog
  • Lab Testing
  • Bioaugmentation Applications
  • Useful Information
  • About Us
BIOLOGICAL WASTE TREATMENT EXPERT
Contact Us

Algae - can bioaugmentation help?

6/6/2018

 
Water retention and stormwater reservoirs serve a vital function in controlling flooding and preventing pollutants from reaching surrounding natural waterways. The runoff contains some blend of the following pollutants:
  • Plant debris (grass clippings, weeds, mulch) - all high in cellulosic materials
  • Fertilizers - both nitrogen & phosphorus
  • Pesticides & herbicides - from gardens
  • Hydrocarbons including oil & fuels - parking lot runoff
  • Untreated wastewater can happen especially during flood events
​What are the treatment options:
  • Add mixers and aeration - this is key to successful reservoir management with all pollutants. This should be the first step -  especially in low flow/mixing reservoirs.
  • Keep pollutants out - either physical or planted barriers mimic natural wetlands that filter pollutants prior to entering water bodies.
  • If algae blooms are still a problem, you can add biological/chemical controls.

Biological & chemical algae controls
  • Copper sulfate - most common low-cost way to control an algae bloom. Effective, but you only want to use during most severe blooms.
  • Dyes to inhibit photosynthesis - not attractive and expensive.
  • Bioaugmentation - using natural water heterotrophic bacteria to degrade pollutants can be a way to improve water quality. Added bacteria help maintain populations required to degrade influent carbon pollutants (measured by COD/BOD). These same bacteria also use nitrogen and phosphorus during growth, thereby removing algae promoting nutrients from the water column. 
​
What to expect from a biological additives in an algae control program
Biological cultures help remove buildup of organics such as hydrocarbons and plant debris. With mixing and aeration, you should notice a reduction in sludge volumes and improved water clarity. The cultures are very effective in lagoons with the most eutrophic conditions. In degrading organic pollutants, you should start to see increased D.O. and lower odors. If the problem is not as much pollution and more algae blooms, you should notice lower copper sulfate or algaecide usage rates.

Overall, I don't see adding biological cultures as a single product fix for eutrophication or algae blooms. It is best to combine multiple technologies to achieve best control.

Comments are closed.

    Author

    Erik Rumbaugh has been involved in biological waste treatment for over 20 years. He has worked with industrial and municipal wastewater  facilities to ensure optimal performance of their treatment systems. He is a founder of Aster Bio (www.asterbio.com) specializing in biological waste treatment.

    View my profile on LinkedIn

    RSS Feed

    Click to set custom HTML

    Archives

    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    December 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    June 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014

Proudly powered by Weebly
Photos from Picturepest, marcoverch, perzonseowebbyra, Picturepest, Picturepest, dsearls, dungodung, Massachusetts Office of Travel & Tourism, aqua.mech, vastateparksstaff, hile, Aaron Volkening, amishsteve, Neil DeMaster, mklwong88, KOMUnews, Picturepest, kaibara87, Bernd Thaller