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U of I researchers tackle North Idaho water issues

by LEIGH COOPER/University of Idaho
| October 20, 2020 1:00 AM

FERNAN LAKE — Sometimes the best place to start solving problems is in your own back yard.

Idaho relies on clean water for agriculture, recreation, drinking and healthy forests, and the University of Idaho is tackling water-related challenges across the state.

The discoveries at U of I advance many aspects of water health — from studying shoreline erosion to investigating toxic algal blooms on Fernan Lake and other area lakes and designing a machine that cleans runoff.

Toxic Algae Harm Local Lakes

According to Idaho’s Department of Environmental Quality (IDEQ), toxic algal blooms erupt in roughly 20 to 25 Gem State lakes every summer. Algal toxins harm plants, animals and humans, and the blooms impair Idaho’s economy by reducing recreation opportunities and property values. Over the past 15 years, these blooms have become more common and persist for more days each year.

One highly impacted water body is Fernan. Residents and lake managers asked Frank Wilhelm, professor of limnology and associate director at U of I, to investigate the cause of the local blooms, which have resulted in dangerous levels of toxins almost annually since 2007.

“We’re not really a research facility, and we don’t have the capacity to investigate the cause of these blooms,” said Bob Steed, a surface water manager with IDEQ. “We rely on academia for that, and Frank has been a great resource for us over the years.”

Trea LaCroix, who was then a master’s student, and Wilhelm measured the water and nutrients flowing into and through Fernan Lake as part of a National Science Foundation project. They found 81 percent of the phosphorus — which fuels the algal blooms — entering the lake never leaves, allowing the element to build up year after year. These findings will help lake managers develop mitigation plans for the lake.

“I think our job as researchers is to solve real-world problems like preserving and protecting water quality,” Wilhelm said. “Our work at Fernan Lake provides necessary information for the stakeholders to make decisions about their lake, and we plan to continue working with them to provide the science they require.”

A Clean Water Machine

Other U of I researchers are tackling the problem of toxic lakes “upstream.” Greg Moller, Dan Strawn and Martin Baker want to remove and recover excess phosphorus — which can come from anything from detergents to fertilizers — from wastewater before it becomes a problem downstream.

Over the past decade, these College of Agricultural and Life Sciences researchers have invented several water technologies that now clean billions of gallons of water and impact the lives of millions of people across the planet.

Currently used in about 140 municipal and industrial water reclamation plants, the inventions use simple materials including rust, sand, air and electricity to remove nutrients that produce harmful algae blooms and even toxic pollutants such as mercury, hormones and antibiotics. The idea is to mimic how nature cleans water, Moller said.

“Baleen whales strain massive amounts of water through filters in their mouths to capture their food,” Moller said. “We think our approach will act similarly on pollutants at the molecular level.”

In September 2020, Moller received a $1 million grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to continue the team’s work.

“Our innovations show we can make substantial progress in controlling these toxic algae blooms,” Moller said. “We are excited to accelerate new discoveries that may help solve a global water challenge.”

The team will use the new EPA funds to accelerate testing of new water treatment technologies including one that employs biochar — or microscopic charcoal ­— to capture phosphorus.

Phosphorus removal is key to improving water quality in North Idaho and other regions.

“We are grateful for the opportunity to visit and assess how our technology is working in actual municipal water reclamation plants across the nation,” Moller said. “We will be able to better understand the equipment’s lifecycle and ways we can improve its efficiency.”

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PHOTOS/Trea LaCroix

Trea LaCroix measures nutrient concentrations and water flow at Fernan Lake as part of the University of Idaho’s water research program.