Cleaning Up The Water!

 Where: Franklin NH Wastewater Treatment Plant

Date: 11/8/10

Mission: Learn about their faultily and determine if it is a sustainable way of cleaning our water

BAM! The second we stepped off the bus the smell hits you. A mixture of old porta potties and methane. Not the most pleasant to say the least but something you can tell the workers of the plant get use to. and the cloud cover was keeping all those smells contained right where they were. 

Ken Noyes- Chief of Operations (has been working at the plant for 22 years)

Ken looked like a working man. Who loves his job and doesnt miss a day of work unless he has to. A man who had earned is money from hard work and determination. A man you could respect. He became our tour of the plant by a map and a banner that he proudly read a loud. 

Environmental Protection Agency's 1st place 2006 for Maintenance and Operations.

"we were first in the whole nation!"

We start with the map: The Franklin Waste Water Treatment Plant is located on the Merrimack River. The plant was build when the Clean Water Act was passed in 1972. The discharge of human waste into lakes and rivers had gotten so bad the government need to take action. It spent billions of dollars to build plant like Franklin all over the nation. 

We began seeing water at the Preliminary or Head Works.

At the head the water runs through a number to screens to filter out any large debris. Anything from feminine products, toys, to money. 

"I even found $3200 dollars one time" Ken

The water than goes through the grit chambers which are 15 feet deep. The inorganics drop out during this chamber. 

The BOD= amount of oxygen for organisms to do their jobs (an indicator of how much harm you are causing to an ecosystem.) 85% of the BODs must be removed by the end of the process. The more solids you have the higher the BOD will be. 

With this new info on BODs and water that was free from solids and inorganicss, we moved on to the Primary treatment. 

"Dilution is the solution to pollution."

Primary Treatment- Waste water flows from the outside and very slowly moves out over V shaped filters on the outside. 60-65% of the settable solids (solids that set to the bottom of the tank) are removed. 35-40% of the BODs are removed. There is a long are the very slowly rotates around the tanks catching all the grease and solids that made it through the head works. Seagulls flock to these tanks to grab the grease and solids floating on the top of the water. Pretty gross! 

Dont try to swim in the next tank for the water treatment. The Aeration tanks are where most of the action occurs. Millions of micro Organisms eat the rest of the DOB's and dissolved solids in the mixed liquor (the water being treated at this point.) The air is added into the tanks to give air to the bugs as well as mix the water. The goal for Ken is to keep them alive and have a high diversity of protozoans. After only 12 to 14 hours the water is free from any solids and moves on to the last step in the cleaning process. 

Secondary Clarification is the last step in cleaning process. The state of NH requires the plant to put all its water through UV lights. The lights kills any bacteria left over. After lighting the water flows directly into the river.

  

For all the solids that are extracted from this process, they make their way to the anaerobic digester and gravity thickeners. Here micro organisms, Acid farmers, and methane farmer (eat acid farmers and create methane)  consume most of the solids. They consume 70% of solids put into it. The other 30-35% are pumped over to the center fugues and water is added and process begins again. For the rest it is used for fertilizers on hay and corn fields. 

The work Ken is doing at his wasterwater plant is not only sustainable but helping to clean up water that we never thought we could use again. 

Ken left us with these parting words. "We're all part of it. I want you to know what happens after you flush."

                              

Lets Create Change!

                    "We can create change one meal at a time" -Food inc. 

   If Americans took a step back and looked at their food system they may learn somethings they would have ever imagined went into producing the food they eat everyday. From people dying from food contaminated with E. coli and salmonella. To genetically altered foods being sold to the consumer without their notice, farmers being run out of business by large companies, and the mistreatment of animals, which most people just turn their eyes away from. 




     "These companies fight, tooth and nail, against labeling. The fast food industry fought against giving you the calorie information. They fought against telling you if there is trans-fat in your food. The meat packing idustry for years prevented country-of-origin labeling. They fought not to label genetically modified foods; and now 70% of processed food in the supermarket has some genetically modified ingredient." Eric Schlosser


 These companies like Tyson and Monsanto who control almost all of the products they sell, have more power in our government than anyone can imagine. Tyson which is the largest producer of meat in the nation and Monsanto who controls almost 90% of soy bean and corn production put their people into our government in high racking postions so they can manipulate laws that are passed. Swaying the laws towards themselves and the "regulations" that are suppost to control them.

Farmers that are producing the chicken for companies like Tyson dont even have control over their own farms. They must adhere to the guidelines the company sets for their farm. Than pay that same company to update their farm. So the company can and does set astronomically high prices for the updates, which if farmers dont do they lose their contract. These large companies like Tyson have small farmers up against a wall that and they know that farmers have to back down. Farmers just dont have a choice. The animals on these farmers are mistreated as well. Yes, many of the farmers try to make a better living for their animals but the amount of animals they are being forced to produce, forces them to hurt the very animals that give them an income. 

 "I'm always struck by how successful we have been at hitting the bull's-eye of the wrong target. I mean we have learned- for example, in cattle we have learned how to plant, fertilize and harvest corn using global positioning satellite technology, and nobody sits back and asks, "But should we be feeding cows corn?" We've become a culture of technicians. We're all into the how of it and nobody's stepping back and saying "But why?" Joel Salatin 

Another issue that is is facing us is our unquestioning blind following of our current food system. We dont ask what and how our food is being produced. Its as if, if we dont look we think it might go away. The sick animals, our food being grown with commercial fertilizers and the genetically altered food going onto our store shelves. The only way change can occur is if we stand up for our food. If we say no to genetically altered produce and no to eating meat rised industrial parks. 

Joel Salatin the owner of Polyface Farm is an excellent example of how an ideal farm should be run.  Even though their food isnt labeled organic they are clearly a environmentally stable farm. Which emphasizes the quality of life for their animals. If more people buy from Polyface they our food system could change! 

 "There are no seasons in the American supermarket. Now there are tomatoes all year round, grown halfway around the world, picked when it was green, and ripened with ethylene gas. Although it looks like a tomato, it's kind of a notional tomato. I mean, it's the idea of a tomato." Michael Pollan

Blackwater River Sub-Watershed

                                                                      Journal Entry #2                                            

Location: Blackwater River Shed, from Andover NH to New London NH

Teacher: Alan McIntyre

Goal: To learn about the ecology of the Blackwater River Shed

                  WaterShed= How the high points of land drain water to the lower points
                                                                     Site #1 

                                                     Lets start with the ABC's of ecology


     A: Abiotic factors- nonliving= nutrients

     B: Biotic factors- living interacting with abiotic
     C: Cycles- changes occurring with abiotic
     D: Diversity- parking lot= simple  rain forest= complex
     E: Energy- flowing though system

These ABC's are the same in any system

Blackwater got it name from the color of its water. The organics, like the leaves in the river make it tea colored. Just as you would infuse herbs in hot water to make tea, the leaves that fall from the trees and land in the river have the same affect. Though Blackwater is fairly clean now in the past New London would dump millions of gallons of its waste water into the river. Blackwater being the name for raw sewage seemed to be very fitting name for the river at the time. At the time Blackwater was a low use river. Which meant no one was using it for water, recreation, or agriculture. Which made it an ideal choice for New London to employ. This was before the public had an idea that this river would lead to other rivers and evenly to the ocean. Affecting many other people, places, and animals along the way. Which meant no long was their sewage their problem but the problems of people unseen to them.

   Abiotic factors of site #1 = sand and rock
18 to 20 million years ago when the last glacier was moving out of NH that was 500 feet taller than Mount Kearsarge. It Pulled up rocks and deposited them in other places. It also brought with it some of the sand that we see today at the Blackwater. The river itself does a nice job of transporting abiotic factor as well. On the path that we took to get to the first site we were walking on sand that was from the river even though we were at least 20 feet away. This indicates that when the river floods it comes to this point and deposits sand as it continues to flow. This is extremely helpful to the forest because when the river floods it brings sand its give the forest different nutrients that it normally wouldnt get. Making the forest stronger. Also the lose sand on the path benefits the turtles that must lay their eggs there.

      Turbidity- Amount of sediment in water
This can go along with the amount of abiotic factors in the water. If many of the abiotics are able to float than it will create a high turbidity. When the turbidity of a river is high than less sunlight can reach the bottom of it, which in turn means less photosynthesis can occur.  If no photosynthesis is occurring than there will be less oxygen in the water. Oxygen being the limiting factor of the river.

   pH: Will affect the type of plant and animals that are able to survive in its water. (the more hydrogen ions make it basic. Low ions make it acidic.)
Temperature: affects the range of tolerance with the species as well

 pH of Blackwater at site #1= 6.5

Temperature = 58 degrees Fahrenheit

Phosphates= 4 high (from the resent floods)- runoff

We didnt have as much luck when trying to find the biotic factors of the river. Having only found one stone fly, no conclusion of the health of the river can be obtained from that. Though stone flies cant tolerant any pollution what so ever. If we had searched longer and found more than we could determine that the Blackwater is fairly unpolluted.






All Rivers are constantly changing. They go through cycles, like the water cycle with snow and rain. These cycles allow for high diversity of life. Complexity= sustainability.


                                                                      Site #2

                    Tributary from Eagle Pond
     The main difference of site 2 at first glance was its dominate plant species. Pine trees were king at this site. Instead of having leaves falling into the river there were pine needles. Which makes the waters pH go down meaning the water is more acidic.
      The Tempature was also affected due to the depth of the water. Site 2 was much sallower making the water warmer.
      Water at site 2 was flowing faster as well. Which translates to more oxygen in the water.

"What?!?"

Site 2's Past: Donald Hall our current poet loret use to talk about being able to watch the pond he lived on change colors throughout the seasons. That pond is Eagle Pond which is the pond that empties into the blackwater  river. It was later learned that the reason the pond was changing colors was because a landfill near its banks was leaking into the pond. Creating it to become so polluted that the pond changed color. Many people believed this lead to the many cases of cancer that were reported in the area. The pollution than went down to the river took with it all the life of the river with it. But looking at the river now you can see that it is a fairly healthy watershed. This proves that over time a body of water can recover and heal itself. If given a chance and a break from the pollutants that are hurting it, the river can absorb the pollutants. The plants take some of it and the water flows the rest of it from the area. The system was able to recover.

*pH= 5.8 (more acidic from the high level of pine needles in the water)

*Temperature = 59 degrees Fahrenheit (sallow water= high temp.)

*Phosphate = 4 (high from the floods)

*Human Impacts- Roads: runoff of salt and sand 

*Trabitaty- Low: good photosynthesis (many aquatic weeds)

* Similar ABCDE's to site #1

       

                                  Site #3 

           Pleasant Lake= Beginning of watershed                              

Phosphate- 4 (high but same as all the other sites)

pH- 6.7

Temperature- 65 degrees Fahrenheit (Much higher temp. than other sites)

        - The lake has a much higher thermal gain or thermal mass. It takes in a lot more sunlight than the river which makes the water hotter. 

Pleasant Lake is getting ready for its fall overturn. The stratified layers of heat flip. The hot layer of water on the top of the lake flips with the cold layer on the bottom. This allows the top layer to freeze as the bottom layer to stay liquified throughout the winter. 

Human Impacts: 

Abiotic: putting chemicals into the lake that flow to the ocean. Some plants absorb the pollutants but only a small amount. The rest flows to the oceans. 

Dams: People built the dam on pleasant for many reasons. The main reason is for transport of money. When the lake is created it brings people to it. Which means it brings in money for the people up keeping the lake. Their is also a social exchange that occurs when spending a day by the lake. 

            The Fun never stops when your studying the ecology of watersheds! Talon is enjoying his job with the net.

                  -Jen  Ellms

Journal Entry #1

"Feed the soil not the plants"
-Kat Darling

Tuesday, September 28th 2010    Two Mountain Farm


Kat Darling the owner of Two Mountain Farm is a Proctor Academy alum. After high school she went to college out west first at Witman, than attending Prescott College. College is where her interest in farming got started. Now Kat lives on the farm in Andover, NH with her dog Peo. 


Goal of Kat's farming: Provide herself with a lively hood, while creating a farm that gives back what it takes from the environment. 


Kat is currently cultivating on 2 acres of her 10 workable acres of land. The farm is located on another 45 acres of woodland that provides the house and farm with fuel. Two Mountain sit atop a hill that provides the farm with good drainage, nice western exposure to sunlight, and great air ventilation from the winds that blow through from the valley. The winds also do the service of blowing away diseases. 
    Paxton Sandy Loam is the soil on the hill that allows Two Mountain to be successful. It is a very acidic soil that is perfect for the native plants to grow like wild strawberries and blueberries. But can make it difficult to grow the specific crops Kat wishes to grow. 
    "Im trying to create diversity of crops with my farm" -Kat Darling
  
 Theres many challenges of growing in NH. Trying to figure out how to be able to grow crops for longer than 2 months is a main one. Kat's solution to this problem is having hoop houses. These are structures that look like a green house but arent heated. 
There are currently two hoop houses at Two Mountain. Kat hopes to build two more to houses in the next few years.

Once you add hoop houses to your farm it allows your growing season to go from 2 months to 8 months. Allowing Kat to overcome some of the challenges growing in NH create. Even though the hoop houses arent heated they still have a warmer temperature and allow you to easily control the amount of moisture each plant gets. 






"FEED THE SOIL NOT THE PLANT!!!" 

In this first hoop house Kat is growing spinach, bok choy, and micro greens. In the other she just had tomatos. Each crop flip flop from each hoop house every year allowing the soil to have a break from the specific plant. In November when all the greens are done growing Kat will move in the chickens to begin their job. They will live in the house and poop which adds much need nitrogen to the soil. 












With a little over 50 chickens at Two Mountain they are just as vital to the system as the human workers who coexist with them. Their poop puts nitrogen back into the soil and their digging rotatil the soil as well. Chicken act as amazing insect control. With their favorite foods being insects they are more than willing to help a farmer out with that chore. Their eggs are also sold to families weekly and bring in quite a bit of revenue. Not only do chickens help around the farm they also bring hours of entertainment. Just in our couple minutes of watching them the whole class was laughing at their antics. 


   

Bees also play a vital role on the farm! They pollinate all the plants that flower to turn them into a fruit. Kat told us that even the first year of having bees her yield of crop increased. She can also harvest a little honey that can be eaten or sold at farmers markets.  















  "The missing link to my farm is my composting. I just dont have enough to give back all the nutrients i take out of the soil yet." Kate told us this as she stood infront of one of her many compose piles. 

Having a high diversity of plants helps with keeping the soil healthy. As does having the animals help by adding cardon. But Kat hopes to soon have a large enough compost pile that it can supply all the nutrients that she is taking out by growing her crops.

  

  Cover Crops: (green manure) Kate uses cover crops so there is never a time when her soil is bare. On the site that we looked at buckwheat was being grown. Cover crops bring up nutrients from lower in the soil so other plants can use them. Also if the soil was bare than there would be runoff and loss of nutrients. 


"We Must think of the soil as a living organism." -Kat Darling

Once you start to think of the soil as a living organism your farming begins to become more successful. The healthier the soil the healthier your plants. The diversity of even the first 6 inches of soil is thought be higher than the rain forests. The Pasture where Kat does all her growing is bacteria run. As with in the forest the soil health is run by fungus. 

            Even Peo has a job on the farm, to hunt down mice. Or at least he tries to.


Two Mountain Farm in a pretty good example of how farms should be run. With the idea of full sustainability. Though some things could be changed like replacing the tractor for a team of draft horses. Making the compost pile bigger, no longer requiring fertilizer to be brought in. If more farmers took steps to have more sustainable farming than we would have a much healthier environment and in turn a much healthier population of people.  

   
  Even on our way out we got a glimpse of the statues from Easter Island. wow! All of  environmental studies are really connecting.  




Home is where the food is. Buy local, buy organic


                        Jen Ellms