Dane County and Aqua Innovations of Beloit are partnering to implement new technology that would turn manure into clear, pure water.
The technology is designed to combat watershed pollution caused by manure that can damage lakes. County officials said the process will also save farmers money and provide fertilizer.
According to the Dane County executive office, $1.3 million has already been approved for the actual equipment, while the 2016 budget includes $500,000 for the construction of a building to house the equipment.
Dane County Executive’s Chief of Staff, Josh Wescott said this emerging technology is essentially a commercial grade reverse osmosis system. He said the system treats farm waste and converts it into water that’s clear enough to run off into a stream. If approved, it will treat millions of gallons of manure each year, and in turn remove mass quantities of the phosphorous pollutant found in manure from the county watershed.
“The focus is on phosphorous when it comes to cleaning up the lakes,” Wescott said. “We estimate that this technology will remove about 100,000 pounds of phosphorous from the watershed each year.”
This is significant news, considering one pound of phosphorous is enough fertilizer to grow 500 pounds of algae in the lakes, Wescott said.
In addition to decreasing lake pollutants, this cutting-edge technology has the potential to decrease the reliance on other forms of water usage on farms through its unique separation system, Wescott said.
Tom Hrinowich president Aqua Innovations called it “The Manure Nutrient Management System.” He said this technology is facilitated through a mechanical process that pumps liquid manure through an ultrafiltration system, rejecting about 20 percent of the original volume.
Hrinowich said the material rejected is composed of phosphorous, leaving the remaining 80 percent to be furthered filtered into a valuable product he refers to as “tea water.”
In its concentrated form, this light-colored liquid functions as a “liquid fertilizer,” which farmers can utilize to irrigate their fields. In previous years, farmers have used this product to increase their yields by 10-20 percent, Hrinowich said.
There is also a profitable use for the phosphorous rejected at the beginning of the filtration process.
Hrinowich said phosphorous is beneficial as a nutrient, but the indiscriminate application of phosphorous on a farm is problematic. He said his new technology allows for control the application of phosphorous to their fields at advantageous times.
“Not only will this give farmers more control, but it will be more economical and cost effective,” Hrinowich said. “Farmers right now are forced to put a lot of manure into trucks, and this will take many trucks off the road. It’s going to be a lot less expensive to handle the manure.”
Although this technology could reduce the economical burdens agronomists and farmers face, Wescott and Hrinowich agree the main focus is to lessen the amount of phosphorous pollutant in the Dane County area.
Hrinowich said Aqua Innovations is excited about partnering with Dane County, and remains very invested in doing their part to guarantee the lakes are as clean as possible.
