Great article! The key is starting at the head of the watershed, not the coast at the bottom which is still a victim of the upstream flow. Ultimately distributed solutions with the best available technology must be utilized, as clearly this article and everyone who understands what's happening agrees, the crisis starts far from the coast.
Just finished watching the movie Dark Waters about the lawyer that sued DuPont for Teflon. People have also just accepted cancer causing chemicals in our water as a fact of life. The fight and the system is so overwhelming, most people have given up paying attention.
A few technical points and political points for consideration:
*Yes nutrient enrichment is the cause. Mostly from septic and then the blue greens growing on them self.
*The impact from warm septic water also may play a role. Remember septic “percs” In minutes through our cape sands.
*Cape ponds have always been anoxic at the bottom according to 1920’s test data.
*Not toxic to swim in - just unpleasant.
*The dead bloom material is poisonous and stinks.
*Associated fish kills with the blooms is also sad and disgusting. Wildlife likes the massive feeding though. But robs the future.
The vast majority of wildlife that ever lived in the ponds are now extinct.
Treatment options are limited not by the alternatives but by the state sanctioned aluminum (alum) chemical treatment company that controls the permit .
Flax, when grown on cape for linen rope and fabric, was soaked in the ponds to decorticate the bark from the fiber. The bark was left in the ponds and acted to prevent blooms since both barley straw and flax straw in the deep sections of cape ponds create a natural barrier that prevent cyno from growing on itself. This simple, inexpensive, natural, longer lasting method does not require altering the Ph of the pond before treatment like the expensive chemical companies must do.
*Aeration is another way but expensive. “Solar Bees “ are floating rafts that pump and add O2
to the column.
Aeration can also be accomplished by onshore pump that pipe the water out of the deep expose it to air and release it back into the pond. Also achieved by solar panels or wind turbines.
Great article! The key is starting at the head of the watershed, not the coast at the bottom which is still a victim of the upstream flow. Ultimately distributed solutions with the best available technology must be utilized, as clearly this article and everyone who understands what's happening agrees, the crisis starts far from the coast.
Just finished watching the movie Dark Waters about the lawyer that sued DuPont for Teflon. People have also just accepted cancer causing chemicals in our water as a fact of life. The fight and the system is so overwhelming, most people have given up paying attention.
Good article.
A few technical points and political points for consideration:
*Yes nutrient enrichment is the cause. Mostly from septic and then the blue greens growing on them self.
*The impact from warm septic water also may play a role. Remember septic “percs” In minutes through our cape sands.
*Cape ponds have always been anoxic at the bottom according to 1920’s test data.
*Not toxic to swim in - just unpleasant.
*The dead bloom material is poisonous and stinks.
*Associated fish kills with the blooms is also sad and disgusting. Wildlife likes the massive feeding though. But robs the future.
The vast majority of wildlife that ever lived in the ponds are now extinct.
Treatment options are limited not by the alternatives but by the state sanctioned aluminum (alum) chemical treatment company that controls the permit .
Flax, when grown on cape for linen rope and fabric, was soaked in the ponds to decorticate the bark from the fiber. The bark was left in the ponds and acted to prevent blooms since both barley straw and flax straw in the deep sections of cape ponds create a natural barrier that prevent cyno from growing on itself. This simple, inexpensive, natural, longer lasting method does not require altering the Ph of the pond before treatment like the expensive chemical companies must do.
*Aeration is another way but expensive. “Solar Bees “ are floating rafts that pump and add O2
to the column.
Aeration can also be accomplished by onshore pump that pipe the water out of the deep expose it to air and release it back into the pond. Also achieved by solar panels or wind turbines.
Peter Herrmann
Peter@americanfalconinc.com