Nitrate Dispersion Sandwich

Nitrate levels in local watercourses have been gradually increasing over the past 40 years. Elevated levels of nitrates in a watercourse can be toxic to aquatic organisms, especially amphibians. Nitrates are of particular concern when they enter groundwater and well water supplies. A condition called blue baby syndrome can result from young children drinking water with elevated levels of nitrates.

Potential sources of nitrates include sewage sludge, industrial wastewater, livestock waste, urban and agricultural pesticide and fertilizer runoff, and atmospheric deposition.

The UTRCA has been working in partnership with scientists from the University of Waterloo for the past decade on a treatment system aimed at reducing nitrates in our watershed streams. In October 2006, a modified version of the "dispersion sandwich" treatment system was installed on the Avon River near Shakespeare. The system uses woodchips to transform nitrogen in the water to a gaseous form. Past studies have shown that the dispersion sandwich will remove close to 100% of nitrates under certain conditions.

The project is one of ten demonstration projects funded in Ontario under Greencover Canada, a component of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada's Agricultural Policy Framework.