| DUCKWEED RESEARCH PROJECT | |
| TITLE OF PROJECT | |
| Grow Duckweed in Sussex's major ditches to lower nutrients and control mosquitoes | |
| TECHNICAL ABSTRACT | |
| Excess nitrogen and
phosphorus are entering our Inland bays and causing nuisance algae
blooms that this summer damaged aquatic habitats and killed or sickened
millions of fish. Much of the non-point source nutrients drain into the
bays through the ditch system.
I plan to lower the volume of non-point source pollution by growing duckweed in the major tax ditches. Duckweed has been widely studied around the world and found useful in reducing nitrogen and phosphorus from water. Since Duckweed floats; a boom, like the ones used for an oil spill, would work for containment. This boom would allow the Duckweed to be held in place without restricting water flow. I propose to create a series of twenty stations. Starting above the point of salt intrusion and placed approximately every 100 yards upstream. Once the Duckweed is established a weekly harvest will assure the removal of absorbed nutrients. While the focus is on nitrogen and phosphorus removal, Duckweed also chemically inhibits mosquito larval development and survival. |
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| ANTICIPATED RESULTS | |
| A 9% removal of
nutrients per station would combine for an 85% overall reduction in the
nitrogen and phosphorus reaching the bay from each treated waterway.
This would be excellent, but even a 4% REDUCTION PER STATION WOULD
COMBINE FOR A 55% OVERALL REDUCTION IN NUTRIENTS.
The added benefit of mosquito control could be parlayed into an off-branch division. Using a quality GPS, potential mosquito breeding ponds could be seeded with Duckweed, regardless of how remote. Keywords = Duckweed Ditches Nutrient and Mosquito Reduction |
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