Geotextile filtration to improve surface water quality

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Eutrophication has been identified as one of the leading risks to surface water quality especially lake water quality in Canada. When lakes become eutrophic, there is a decrease in biodiversity, increase in turbidity and organic matter and the development of anoxic conditions. The increase in algal blooms provides poor aesthetics, taste and odor problems, is a hazard to bathers and pets and leads to increased health hazards due to potential toxin production. The objective of the study is to evaluate the effectiveness of non-woven geotextiles in reducing the nutrients and suspended solids to improve lake water quality, particularly for small communities that use surface water for drinking water and recreational purposes. This project will be a continuation of a recent on-site experiments conducted by using nonwoven geotextiles as filter media. The lakes are located in the Sainte-Anne-des-Lacs municipality, north of Montreal, Quebec. These have shown potential for improvement of surface water quality in terms of nutrients and solids removal. Therefore, the next step proposed is to test the filter in the lake in pilot tests to examine the factors affecting the phosphorus and other component removal efficiency under realistic conditions for future scale-up and implementation. This project is in collaboration with a geotextile manufacturer (Titan Environmental Containment) and the local community and will lead to a potential solution without chemical addition for the restoration of eutrophic lakes.