The area's first water cleansing treatment train at Prairie Creek will debut to the public from 1 to 5 p.m. Oct. 5 and 6 on the south side of Grand Lake along state Route 219, east of Kittle Road near Aqua View Estates. State officials and invited guests will attend a dedication ceremony at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday.
The estimated $2.5 million treatment train diverts a small amount of water from Prairie Creek and treats it with alum, a chemical that deactivates phosphorous, the favorite food of the lake's toxic blue-green algae. The water is then funneled through two retention ponds and six manmade wetland cells before it enters the lake.
Much of the natural wetlands around the 13,500-acre lake was destroyed over the years due to development. Wetlands act as kidneys to filter out sediment and nutrients.
Read Nancy Allen's story on The Daily Standard website