An experimental technique of adding tiny bubbles to a small canal in Satellite Beach could provide an important new option for reducing muck in the Indian River Lagoon, if the results pan out.
To that end, John Trefry and Austin Fox of Florida Tech are currently conducting a year-long study of an aeration system developed by Allied Group USA, Inc. of Orlando, now in place in Redwood Canal with nearby Anderson Canal serving as a control canal without having the bubbles introduced.
The tests on the 100-foot-wide, 1,000-foot canals will check for significant decreases in organic matter, decreases in nitrogen and phosphorus levels (found in fertilizers) and for significant improvements in water clarity and quality.
“We went into this because everyone around here wanted chemical proof that it was working or not. We’re there really to see if it is viable. At this point, muck management is pretty much synonymous with dredging. There are a lot of people who would like to see other options including aeration but there have been no tests in the lagoon to evaluate its effectiveness. It might improve water quality and cut down on the chance of fish kids,’’ Trefry said.
The study, being funded by Florida Tech, Satellite Beach and Allied Group USA, will eventually result in a report to the Indian River Lagoon National Estuary Program (NEP).
The system involves very low pressure pumps pumping regular air to ceramic diffusors to create microbubbles at eight locations along the bottom of the canal where muck accumulates until dredged out.
The result – without stirring up sediment or otherwise clouding the water – is sort of like the concept of composting, where oxygen helps make organic material break down over time, except it is happening underwater, resulting in an overall reduction of muck, said Allied Group USA President Jay Barfield of Orlando.
“We’re generating small bubbles and some stay at the bottom where compost-type conditions exist. It’s not a true analogy but it’s about 80 percent true. We can reduce the amount of muck to help keep the canals navigable while reducing the nutrients that cause fish kills,’’ he said.
The hope is that this could be another means to control muck problems, Trefry said.
“With some of these canals the dredges barely fit, but something’s got to be done. When you dredge creeks and canals there’s a lot of muck left behind. Now maybe you will be able to bring in an aeration system and get what’s left behind to decompose.’’ he said.
Possible changes to variables considered for the study could be to change the size of the bubbles even smaller or to explore the possibility of pumping pure oxygen, he said.
“We’ve gone from skeptics to wanting this to succeed,’’ he said.
Allied Group USA is contributing $13,000 toward the study, with Florida Tech contributing $15,000 and Satellite Beach providing $14,000 in matching money including in-kind services.
Dredging is well known and studied as a method to address muck accumulations. Aeration is a new idea that takes some convincing on the part of many government officials, a concept that could be aided by the study, Barfield said.
“We self-funded what we’re doing over there because we have fish dying. I told them I will do it for free because I know that it will work. We’re doing this project on us,’’ he said.
