Dense algae and high pH levels plagued the lagoon at the Wingate (Ind.) Wastewater Treatment Plant in summer. Since 2007, nitrogen averaged 18.9 mg/L to 30 mg/L every January through March, exceeding the 7.2 mg/L winter discharge limit.
"An engineer at the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) recommended building a mechanical treatment plant, but our 260 residents can't afford a $2 million facility," says town superintendent and Class 1 operator Ramon Knutti. "Even covering the lagoon with a $750,000 blanket was out of the question."
Then Knutti met Jim Bradley from Bradley Environmental
