15Dec
Where Will The Biosolids Go?
December 15, 2019
Spreading partially treated sewage as a soil amendment, similar to applying fertilizer, is a highly regulated and usually extremely responsible method for disposing of waste water containing biosolids.
The ability to spread biosolids on a given site is not granted haphazardly. The process is actually quite cumbersome. First, nutrients in the waste water stream have to be identified and quantified. Also, the types of plants grown on the land and soils present are also examined. Each type of plant has a different rate at which it can uptake certain nutrients and each soil type retains moisture and drains at different levels and speeds. Further, the amount of nutrients naturally available given soil types, the location of land, land use, etc are quantified. Florida Professional Engineers are then required to calculate the both the application amount and timing of biosolids given all this information, limiting the quantity of biosolids applied to any given tract of land. The purpose of this process is to ensure nutrients are used by the grasses and crops grown on the land without causing environmental impacts or allowing excess nutrients to leave the property and enter adjacent water bodies. All of this information and calculations are gathered into a report that is then submitted to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection for review. If accepted, the site will be permitted and subject to record keeping, monitoring, testing, and inspection.
This previously accepted practice is, however, currently being targeted as the source of Harmful Algae Blooms and other environmental problems, as can be seen in the article referenced below. The current question is whether spreading biosolids at agronomic rates is really impacting Florida's water bodies. Public concern that it may be is causing some Counties and Municipalities to put a temporary ban on the practice.
What is perhaps equally as concerning and seems to remain an unspoken concern is what will be done with all the waste that used to be responsibly applied to agricultural land if the practice is banned entirely...
https://www.tcpalm.com/story/news/local/shaping-our-future/2019/12/10/indian-river-county-extends-ban-biosolids/2634729001/
https://www.tcpalm.com/story/news/local/shaping-our-future/2019/12/10/indian-river-county-extends-ban-biosolids/2634729001/
