HydroMentia’s pollution control systems can be designed to reduce pollutants to natural background levels at a fraction of the capital and operating costs of competing technologies. No other technology has been shown to reduce nutrient pollutants to background levels (10-40 ppb total phosphorus) while converting residuals to a marketable commodity.
Passive wetland treatment systems currently serve as the primary technology for regional stormwater treatment to achieve low-level phosphorus standards. However, a number of challenges confront passive wetland systems including: (1) long-term effectiveness at higher pollutant loads (non-sustainability without sediment management); (2) restricted applicability in settings where land is limited; (3) and detrimental impacts to communities when land is taken off the local tax roll and out of productive use.
Algal Turf Scrubber® systems minimize these challenges through high hydraulic loading rate capabilities, and the regular recovery and recycling of algal biomass developed during decades of research and implementation.
A study by the University of Florida concluded that Algal Turf Scrubber® phosphorus treatment costs ($/kg P-removed) for proposed treatment systems in the Lake Okeechobee watershed were 53–69% lower than costs for wetland stormwater treatment areas, even when assigning value to the wetland stormwater treatment areas for water storage and recreational benefits.
[1] USACE, SFWMD, HDR. October 2003. Lake Okeechobee Watershed Project Draft PIR, Water Quality Treatment Ranking (TPIN=261 ppb, TPOUT=100 ppb, 61.6% Removal, 97,500 AF/yr) [2] HydroMentia. April 2005. Single Stage Algal Turf Scrubber Present Worth Cost & By-Product Market Analysis. (TPIN=200 ppb, TPOUT=146ppb, 27.0% Removal, 56,000 AF/yr, Pump Costs Included)