Wood chips and sawdust, plus a little biochar, are effective natural solutions to reducing nutrients in area waterways. Steve Suau, principal of Progressive Water Resources, detailed that, as well as other tips Wednesday evening at a program hosted by Hands Along the Water at the Frances T. Bourne Jacaranda Public Library.
Wood chips and sand, buried to create an anaerobic environment, provide a perfect filter to remove nitrogen, since the wood provides food for the bacteria and microbes that then reduce the amount of nitrogen. In South Venice, the Florida community plans to use such trenches — placed between runoff from septic systems and the waterways that feed Alligator Creek — to reduce the nitrogen content of the effluent produced by septic systems in the community. Newer systems can include that same type of sawdust and wood chip layer underneath the drainfield to remove nitrogen. | READ MORE
Print this page
