EnBiorganic Technologies: www.enbiorganic.com
EnBiorganic’s microbiology consists of several strains of naturally occurring soil bacteria that replace traditional microbiology for wastewater treatment solutions. Their refined formulation has been proven to treat wastewater with minimal energy input in traditional wastewater treatment processes and eliminate traditional biosolids that are harmful to the ecosystem. This supports a sustainable solution for the treatment of wastewater which is directly linked to improved economics, improved productivity and improved environmental performance.
Microbiology is derived from soil and is non-pathogenic. It is specifically formulated for a particular site; in essence, the bacterium is trained to feed off of a certain diet then released into that wastewater environment knowing its food source. Each dose of microbes will positively affect a measured quantity of effluent.
EnBiorganic Technologies’ EBS-Di is a disruptive bioaugmentation method that combines the use of autonomous bio-dispensing via a remote-controlled generator to dispense customized soil bacteria. The bacteria used are a consortium of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency approved bacillus microbes that are BioSafety Level One, non-pathogenic, non-GMO and on the FDA’s Generally Recognized As Safe list. The introduced bacillus outcompetes cyanobacteria for nutrients which will result in the lake and pond’s cyanobacteria being restored to a natural balance and cyanotoxins eliminated in a relatively short period of time. Long term, the pond will no longer have HAB challenges, water clarity will improve, and odors will be eliminated, according to EBT.
Complete Lake Restoration
While there are Harmful Algae Bloom (HAB) solutions in the market today, none can eliminate the blooms and destroy all cyanotoxins. Not only will the HAB be completely remediated, including the elimination of toxins like Microcystin, the lake will be restored to its natural and healthy state.
Our solution is Nature’s Remedy, Made Ready – The EBS-Di process technology along with our proprietary consortium microbial agents bring health back to the lake and the surrounding ecosystem sustainably, organically, and naturally. The EnBiorganic system is highly efficient and effective, requiring no capital costs with low periodic maintenance costs.
NOTES from Zoom meeting June 21, 2022
Betsy Ludwick’s notes:
~The trial is FREE
~Location can be at a house or community structure. Possibly the park. The unit is not weather proof but they have a 5x8 trailer it can go in. (Probably to rent.) The optimum spot for the equipment is where nature moves so a good inlet
~The unit should be close to the power supply and can be 100 feet from water. The hoses only have to be underwater, not necessarily far out. Close to the strongest flow for distribution.
~Cost of electricity is not included in rental but is the responsibility whoever it is decided by the township, county, or board. One unit should be sufficient but depending on the lake data they could start with 2.
~Municipalities are the typical client. They have these in Ohio, Iowa, Tennessee, Florida, and Pennsylvania.
~They contract with Advanced Rehabilitation Technologies to do the service. ART
~They primarily do waste water and lagoon ponds. This is the beginning of their work with lakes.
~The microbial technology out competes the cyanobacteria. It binds with the phosphorus and sends it down where it belongs. It greatly reduces the sediment because it will cannibalize the excess microbes.
~If our lake gets cleaned up we may only have to do it every other year. Even if we would get sewer there is still the run off to deal with. Along with inlet pollution there is still the goose excrement, carp stirring up the bottom, unhealthy septics, and drain fields.
~Can we introduce this bacteria into our own septic systems? Not yet but they are coming up with a unit for personal use.
~For wastewater there are no permits needed
~They use source batch microbes which means they analyze the bacteria in our lake and treat them accordingly.
~Algae treatment last year was $12,000-$14,000. This year the budget is $16,000
~On our lake in our location 5-7 months would be sufficient to bring our lake back to a Eutrophic Lake.
~To build a designated wastewater unit (sewer) they would work with their engineer simultaneously to meet the needs of the homes.
~They do not like Phoslock because it eats all the sediment and some sediment is necessary for healthy lake plant growth
~They have references available but it is so new that it is mostly wastewater, retention ponds.
Paula Humphrey’s notes:
Trial would be FREE! Except for electricity.
Location TBD
The township would need to be contacted and involved in the process
Advanced Rehab Technologies (ART) is licensed in our area to do the install and maintenance
This is microbiology. The microbes are released into the water. Their function is to restore the natural equilibrium to the lake. This system has been very successful on wastewater and lagoons. These microbes work to out compete the algae, binding with phosphorus. It also reduces the bottom sediment and purifies bad nutrients. These microbes would eventually die when they had nothing to feed on.
They are currently working on individual septic system units, to be released soon. They estimate they would charge $20/month – (or $240/year – verses having your tanks pumped every 3 years for $150).
This company (EnBiorganic Technologies), is willing to spearhead contacting all governing entities to get this program working for our lake; having zoom meetings with officials, lake resident meetings, township hall meetings.
Betsy indicated that she would send them any test results that we currently have.
The microbes would be released into 25,000 liters of water per day.
This unit is not weatherproof, so we would need to underwrite the cost of a rental trailer, or shelter.
They would prefer to place the unit near an active inlet.
The acreage of our lake is still under review, it may take 2 units to service our lake for the initial clean-up and then probably go with a single unit for maintenance.
They will have data on the project in TSU at the end of June.
For an easier understanding here is an example of how this will work:
When your body have a bacterial infection you take antibiotics to kill the bad bacteria because the normal “flora” bacteria in your system is not able to counteract the bad. So, the antibiotics kill the bad bacteria but they don’t know when to stop killing bacteria and so they begin to kill the good bacteria too which will then cause problems with yeast infections and gastric problems because of the imbalance. So, you start to add prebiotics and probiotics to your system such as yogurt to bring back the good bacteria. Typically, treatment needs to continue for the prescribed amount of time (i.e. 10 days) not just until you feel better. The good bacteria can be very out of balance by then.
This technology would not be putting chemicals, like a medication, in the lake. It would be putting the microbes that would be more like the probiotics into the lake to eat up the large amounts of nutrients that cause our algae blooms. Specifically, nitrogen, phosphorus, and cyanobacteria which are at extremely high levels and cause algae. However, the technology in the EBS-Di monitors the amounts and when they are back in balance they start to neutralize or cannibalize themselves to keep the levels where they need to be.
Cost range for the unit:
Their initial estimate is $6000 a month per unit including all the microbes . This does not include electricity. Once the lake is back into a nutritive balance the cost will be less because it will take less time to clean it up each year if it is even needed every year. The runoff from the fields and the seepage from the septic systems does not stop.
In 2021, the cost for just algae treatment with chemicals was $5,000-$6000. Each year the lake gets closer to hypereutrophic which is very bad. It may take 2 EBS-Di units for 2-3 months to initially balance our bacteria.
EBT is so sure that this will clean up our lake they are willing to invest approximately $25,000 to $30,000 in us for a free trial which will include testing before, during and after.
Current Treatment
Currently Professional Lake Management uses chelated copper or copper sulfate for algae control because nothing else works in our lake. Different chemicals are used for weed control. EnBiorganic does not deal with weed growth but when the bad bacteria is reduced so are some of the invasive weed because that is their food. The good filtering weeds grow better and this enhances our fish habitat.
A phone conversation with Dr. Jennifer Jones who is the owner and Limnologist. [Limnology is the study of inland aquatic ecosystems. The study of limnology includes aspects of the biological, chemical, physical, and geological characteristics of fresh and saline, natural and man-made bodies of water. This includes the study of lakes, reservoirs, ponds, rivers, springs, streams, wetlands, and groundwater. https://restorativelakesciences.com/ ] She disagreed with using copper all the time because the algae will develop resistance to copper over time. It can clear up the lake for a period of 1-2 weeks and then the algae regenerates. Dr. Jones would do testing on our lake for around $17,500-$15,000. This is just to formulate a plan to treat the lake it does not include treatment. They do not treat but recommend companies who would treat best for the needs of the lake. Property Lake Management is on their list.
Copper Sulfate Algaecide
Copper sulfate was used many years ago for algae control however there was adverse environmental effects of copper build-up in the bottom sediments when this product was used. Since then and over the last 30 years or so, a chelated (chemically locked in) copper compound was formulated. The product is far superior to copper sulfate in that it provides a longer contact (killing) time due to its stability to work in alkaline waters. It also provides a longer lasting control than copper sulfate with lower copper dosages being used and requires less frequent applications. Research and field usage have shown a high potential for detrimental environmental effects. In certain waters, copper sulfate is toxic to fish and other organisms. Overuse of this product is common due to its short-term effectiveness. This can result in copper build-up in the sediments leading to a sterile bottom. A sterile bottom will lead to a lack of beneficial bacteria and cause among other things, high algae blooms which in effect, reduces the chances for aquatic plants to grow due to the shading on the bottom caused from the thick algae. When aquatic plant growth diminishes, so can fish growth and survival.
The preferred method and most natural method for algae control is to treat the water with beneficial bacteria which acts as a beneficial pond bacteria cleaner. Beneficial bacteria is naturally occurring in any body of water, however when the ecosystem is not balanced and there's an excess of organic nutrients in the water supplying nourishment for the algae to grow, is when there is an abundance of algae and other problems (oxygen deprivation, sludge build-up, etc.) in the pond. The beneficial bacteria helps to break down the silt, sludge, decomposing organic matter, increases dissolved oxygen levels and many other great things. For complete information about algae control for ponds and lakes as well as more information about the importance of beneficial bacteria and proper aeration, please read our information about algae control
In review, copper sulfate:
Has short term effectiveness and therefore is often misused and overused. Copper remains in the pond and does not bio-degrade.
Copper sulfate can be toxic to fish and other organisms.
Copper sulfate results in copper build up in pond sediments and creates a sterile bottom in the pond. Besides many important organisms, it kills beneficial bacteria.
Beneficial bacteria act as a bacteria pond cleaner, it breaks down organic matter in the pond including silt, sludge, decaying plants, etc. into harmless chemicals. Beneficial bacteria and algae both feed on nutrients in the water available from the silt, sludge, decomposing plants, fertilizers, etc. By adding beneficial bacteria on a regular basis, you increase the beneficial bacteria colonies and therefore have more bacteria working for you to keep the pond clean, clear and healthy.
We recommend the use of our all-natural beneficial bacteria product, PlanktoniX to treat ponds and lakes for algae control and faster organic matter decomposition from silt, sludge and decaying plants & fish.
You can use chelated copper algaecide that is chemically locked in to kill pond algae. We offer different kinds.
A documentary on Harmful Algae Blooms (HAB) is “The Toxic Puzzle”. More information on this can be found at: https://www.toxicpuzzle.com/.
EnBiorganic Technologies Information Timeline
June 11, 2022
The board president received an email of introduction from EnBiorganic Technology from Las Vegas, NV and Calgary, Albert, Canada. www.enbiorganic.com
June 14, 2022
After researching the company and the links to some testimonials on lake/pond projects a response was sent asking for more information. These testimonials included grant research for a botanical garden in Pinecrest, Florida and a pilot study on the campus of Tennessee State University.
June 15, 2022
The board president and her husband had a Zoom meeting with Anson Liski and Matt Slough from EnBiorganic Technology (EBT). This was recorded to share with the board.
June 15, 2022
The president gave preliminary information about the company and after the meeting some stayed to watch the Zoom recording.
June 21, 2022
Another Zoom meeting with Matt and Anson to ask many questions.
June 22-27, 2022
EGLE was contacted and responded that permits would need to be obtained and all the microbes would have to be allowed.
Chester Township was informed of these initial meetings.
Property Lake Management was also notified and asked for feedback. They had no information on this treatment.
July 1, 2022
Email conversation with Matt & Anson (EBT) asking more questions and reporting on contacts made.
July 4, 2022
Matt from EBT confirmed they were working with EGLE to obtain permits to do the trial on our lake.
July 6, 2022
Conversation by phone with Sara Nedrich from EGLE who is responsible for approving projects where bacterial augmentation products are applied to surface waters of the state. Surface waters of the state are defined as the Great Lakes and their connecting waters, inland lakes, rivers, streams, impoundments and open drains and other surface bodies of water within the confines of the state.
July 8, 2022
Zoom meeting with most of the association board of directors. Recorded for those who couldn’t attend.
July 12, 2022
Phone call with Melanie Manion from Ottawa County Parks who is responsible for coordinating the protection, stewardship and restoration of natural resources on park properties and for the development of a comprehensive parks volunteer program. Melanie has a B.S. in Biology and Environmental Science and a M.S. in Conservation Biology from Central Michigan University.
Phone call from Matt (EBT) confirming continued interest in pursuing a trial treatment to Crockery Lake.
July 13, 2022
Conversation with Township Supervisor Gary Meerman who will attend the next CLA meeting on July 20, 2022
July 14, 2022
Received an email with the July 8 Zoom meeting recording from EBT as well as answers to a number of questions raised since the zoom, meeting.
July 15, 2022
Email from Melanie Manion from Ottawa County Parks saying she and another Park manager will be attending our CLA meeting on July 20, 2022.
As suggested by Melanie Manion the board president placed a call to GVSU’s Annis Water Resources Institute (AWRI). A short explanation was given on the phone and she is going to research who we should speak with in which department and they will return my call.
The president left a message with Jennifer Jones from Restorative Lake Services (RLS) after a contact was made by a board member with someone who recommended we reach out to them as well. They are located in Spring Lake.
July 20, 2022
Phone call with Jennifer Jones from Restorative Lake Sciences about testing and treatment for lakes.
August 4, 2022
Contact made with Dan Wickham from www.sludgehammer.net. His business is using microbiology (bacteria) for septic systems. He is working on Brooks Lake to see if his technology will work in lakes.
Timeline of 2022 Algae Treatments by PLM
May 25, 2022
Algae treatment by PLM using Chelated Copper (Captain XTR)
June 21, 2022
Algae treatment by PLM using Chelated Copper (Captain XTR)
July 8, 2022
Algae treatment by PLM using Copper Sulfate (SeClear)
July 29, 2022
Algae treatment by PLM using Copper Sulfate (SeClear)
Timeline for Secchi and Dissolved Oxygen Testing
Dissolved oxygen
May 2021: 1 ft- 22.8; 5 ft-22.8 ft; 10 ft-15.4; 15 ft-11.6; 17 ½ ft- 8.05
May 2022: 1 ft-16.76; 5 ft-17.73; 10 ft-11.14; 15 ft-10.57; 17 ½ ft-9.63
DNR said a dissolved oxygen level above 10 is ok for fish.
So in May the fish had approxim- 3ately 4 feet less water depth to live in compared to last year at the same time.
Secchi reading last year in May was 4 ½ feet; this year in May it was 2 ½ feet.
(The Secchi reading is used to measure water transparency or turbidity in bodies of water)
June 14, 2022
Secchi reading - 3 feet
June 20, 2022
Secchi reading - 2 ½ feet. We had lost 6 inches from the week before.
June 27, 2022
Secchi reading one week after algae treatment - 2 ½ feet
July 14, 2022
Secchi reading - 4 feet
Dissolved Oxygen at 1 foot- 7.08, at 5 feet-7.34, at 15 feet-7.09, at 17 1/2 feet-0.018.
July 18, 2022
Secchi reading - 3 feet
Dissolved Oxygen at 10 foot - 6.76
July 25, 2022
Secchi reading - 41/2 feet
Dissolved Oxygen at 10 feet - 6.17
August 2, 2022
Secchi reading - 3 ½ feet
Dissolved Oxygen at 10 feet - 7.13
August 9, 2022
Secchi reading - 3 ½ feet
Dissolved Oxygen at 1 foot - 6.29; 10 feet - 6.35; 15 feet - 0.07
August 15, 2022
Secchi reading - 4 ½ feet
Dissolved Oxygen at 1 foot - 5.69; 5 feet - 5.66; 10 feet - 5.32 ; 15 feet - 5.34; at 17 ½ - 2.98 feet; 20 feet - 0.18: at 45 feet - 0.05