June 7, 2010
David Flick, Principal and Founder, announces the completion of an innovative bioengineered design using cooling tower water as a source of irrigation water for high density turf grass. The generation of electricity at the site results in the accumulation of process water with moderate amounts of chloride. Normal cool season turf grass forms a tight root matrix preventing water infiltration into the soil. As a result, after the top four inches of the soil is saturated, additional rainfall or irrigation becomes site runoff. Water absorbed in the first four inches of soil is utilized by the grass for biomass growth or lost to evaporation.
With a high density turf application, grass is produced at 10 times the normal density in order to maximize the plant’s demand for water. Scientists with the firm developed an organic fertilizer blend that provides necessary macro and micronutrients for the necessary biomass production. The high density turf stand can utilize up to one inch of water daily.
Minimal runoff from the irrigation area is treated passively through adsorption in an ecobasin established with facultative wetland species of native grasses and wildflowers. |
