Project Overview

A 31-month monitoring program conceived, designed, and implemented in response to the installation of a “green technology” woodchip bioreactor at the Town of Bolton Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP). The goal of this Lake Champlain Sea Grant Project was to implement and conduct a thorough investigation of a woodchip bioreactor in an upstate New York wastewater treatment facility to determine the feasibility of using this ‘green’ infrastructure technology to remove nitrate-nitrogen from plant effluent which is discharged to groundwater and then enters Bolton Bay in Lake George.

Objectives

The original and primary Project objectives were to (1) characterize the chemistry of the Bolton WWTP effluent, with particular emphasis on nitrate, ammonia and soluble reactive phosphorus of the effluent stream being denitrified through the bioreactor and side-by-side, the stream not being denitrified, and (2) monitor the improvement in groundwater nitrate levels moving down-gradient from the WWTP during the study period. These efforts were undertaken in conjunction with a detailed documentation of treatment plant operations and measuring of unit process efficiency. The merging of these two program components produced a focused understanding of plant treatment efficiencies using this green technology and the potential impact of low-cost capital improvements and plant operation optimization.

Dataset Availability

Downloadable: 1 dataset

Tags

Status - Completed

Start date: 2019-03-19

End date: 2021-09-30

Study Area

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