Alum Treatment Pilot Project begins at Grand Lake St. Marys
Alum treatment will begin Thursday, September 23 and be completed by late Friday, September 24 at demonstration areas around Grand Lake St. Marys, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR).
The alum will be applied in liquid form using a boat-mounted system by Sweetwater Technology of Aitkin, Minn. The demonstration project will be supervised by Tetra Tech, a consultant for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Prior to the treatment, curtains have been erected in six areas including the West Bank Marina, Otterbein channels, Harmons channel, the 4-H camp channel and the West Beach area. Boaters are asked to avoid the curtained areas until November 1 when the demonstration project is expected to be complete.
This week’s demonstration project, which covers about 45 acres, will help determine the effectiveness of alum as a means to inactivate phosphorus in the lake water. The information gathered by this demonstration will be used to determine whether a whole-lake treatment is appropriate, as well as decide the dosing requirements. If effective, it will buy time for longer term projects throughout the watershed and in the lake to permanently improve water quality.
This project is financed in part through a grant from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency and the United States Environmental Protection Agency, under the provisions of Section 319(h) of the Clean Water Act.