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Wastewater
Treatment Articles Index
Some lagoon operators have difficulty meeting the effluent standards for solids and bacteria for the autumn discharge. How can that be when treatment efficiency is highest in the summer?
If the effluent solids are high, it may mean that the lagoon efficiency has been very high. The sun, wind, and bacteria have worked well during the summer to change the sewage solids into algae. The natural processes in the lagoon have been successful.
If the bacteria level is high, it may indicate that an extended family of geese has made your lagoon its home for a while. Your lagoon is like any other wetlands-type body of water with one exception. The water in your lagoon is sampled and tested.
One possible method of discerning whether the fecal coliform count represents human or animal fecal pollution is to test the water for fecal strep. Human ratios of fecal strep to fecal coliform are generally less than one while comparative non-human ratios tend to be considerably greater than one. For instance, if recently deposited human waste is responsible for a fecal coliform count of 430 organisms per 100 ml, the fecal strep count would be about 100 organisms per 100 ml. On the other hand, if recently deposited fecal waste from a duck is responsible for the same fecal coliform count of 430 organisms per 100 ml, the fecal strep count would be about 700 organisms per 100 ml.
Considering these facts, your lagoons may be more in step with "Mother Nature" than it may initially seem. However, "Mother Nature" does not necessarily mean pristine.
Wastewater Treatment Articles Index
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