ALGAE BLOOM IN LAKES, PONDS
Challenge
Nutrient runoff results in toxic algae blooms, rendering fresh-water ponds unusable. Wastewater ponds, residential ponds, small lakes, drinking water reservoirs – all are susceptible to upstream nutrients being washed into the water. This results in algae blooms and ultimately makes them unfit for use. When fresh water becomes precious, especially in times of drought, keeping these water resources clean is of the utmost importance. SludgeHammer™ Technology is proven successful to prevent algae bloom in lakes and ponds.
SludgeHammer™ was asked to intervene at a Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO) site in Northern California. The farm, like the rest of the state, was suffering through a years-long drought. The operation’s fresh water came from on-site wells, supplemented by a 30-acre rain catchment pond. Management was concerned that if the drought persisted, it would draw down and deplete it’s ground water. Consequently, they needed to ensure all fresh water sources were available for use, including the rainwater catchment pond.
As the weather warmed the upstream livestock grazing caused nutrients to flow into the catchment pond. A dense algae bloom began to appear, making the water unusable.
Solution
The SludgeHammer™ PondBot starves out algae. SludgeHammer™ developed the PondBot, a self-propelled, programmable, solar-powered robot which simultaneously aerates and inoculates pond water with SludgeHammer Blend™ bacteria. Three weeks after being placed in the pond, the PondBot’s bacteria inoculant consumed the animal waste nutrients and starved out the algae, causing it to collapse. The result is clear, clean, fresh pond drinking water for livestock in the middle of a drought. Furthermore, once the algae had been eliminated, the pond became a more balanced ecosystem with a reinvigorated habitat of plants and fish, amphibian, and insect activity.
Get results from the PondBot
- Controls algae blooms
- Improves water quality
- Continuous aeration and inoculation
- Records water conditions
- Ends noxious odors
- Moves under its own power
- Can be remotely monitored and controlled through Bluetooth or the internet
