Ferric Chloride Treatment Facility
The Ferric Chloride Treatment Facility is one of the District's "nutrient reduction powerhouses". Reducing nutrients reaching Spring Lake is essential for preventing algal blooms and other water quality problems.
Project Location: Highway 13, southwest of Spring Lake
Status Details:
Ongoing. Seasonally inject ferric chloride into the stormwater pond.
The main input to Spring Lake flows through County Ditch 13. Water generally flows from the southwest to the northeast as it funnels through the County Ditch 13 system toward Spring Lake. The Ferric Chloride system treats water from the County Ditch 13 just before water reaches Spring Lake. As the water flows through the Ferric Chloride system, the facility injects liquid ferric chloride into the water at a controlled rate in a specially built pond area called a desiltation pond. Here the ferric chloride chemical attaches to the phosphorus in the water, then forms a solid material and falls to the bottom of the pond. This process “cleans” the water by removing phosphorus as it continues to flow into Spring Lake.
Benefits
- Testing has shown that the Ferric Chloride Facility provides an estimated removal of 35% of the Total Phosphorus coming from the County Ditch 13 system and roughly 60% of the dissolved phosphorus which algae can use more easily.
- This essentially prevents an average of more than 500 pounds phosphorus from entering Spring Lake each year. And just one pound of phosphorus can produce 500 pounds of algae!