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Open AccessArticle
Evaluation of Seasonal Reservoir Water Treatment Processes in Southwest Florida: Protection of the Caloosahatchee River Estuary
by
Thomas M. Missimer
Thomas M. Missimer 1,*
,
Seneshaw Tsegaye
Seneshaw Tsegaye 1
,
Serge Thomas
Serge Thomas 2,
Ashley Danley-Thomson
Ashley Danley-Thomson 1 and
Peter R. Michael
Peter R. Michael 1
1
Department of Bioengineering, Civil Engineering and Environmental Engineering, Florida Gulf Coast University, 10501 FGCU Boulevard South, Fort Myers, FL 33965, USA
2
Department of Ecology and Environmental Studies, Florida Gulf Coast University, 10501 FGCU Boulevard South, Fort Myers, FL 33965, USA
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Water 2024, 16(15), 2145; https://doi.org/10.3390/w16152145 (registering DOI)
Submission received: 8 July 2024
/
Revised: 21 July 2024
/
Accepted: 27 July 2024
/
Published: 29 July 2024
Abstract
In southwest Florida, the Caloosahatchee River flows from Lake Okeechobee into a biologically productive tidal estuarine system. A combination of excess water during the wet season, insufficient fresh water in the dry season, and poor quality of the river water are damaging the estuarine ecosystem. To better control the quality and quantity of the water entering the estuary, reservoirs are being constructed to store excess, poor quality water during the wet season and return it to the river for discharge into the estuary at an appropriate time. This stored water is enriched in nutrients and organic carbon. Because of the subtropical nature of the climate in southwest Florida and potential increases in temperature in the future, the return flow of water from the reservoirs must be treated before it can be returned to the river. Hence, an experimental water treatment system was developed and operated to compare biological treatment processes consisting of solely wetland plants versus adding some engineered processes, including slow sand filtration and a combination of slow sand filtration and ultraviolet (UV) treatment. These three treatment trains were operated and monitored through a seasonal cycle in 2021–2022. All three treatment methods significantly reduced the concentrations of nutrients and total organic carbon. While the enhanced engineered wetlands’ treatment trains did slightly outperform the wetland train, a comparison of the three process trains showed no statistically significant difference. It was concluded that upscaling of the slow sand filtration and UV process could improve the treatment efficiency, but this change would have to be evaluated within a framework of long-term economic benefits. It was also concluded that the Caloosahatchee River water quality is quite enriched in nutrients so that reservoir storage would increase the organic carbon concentrations, making it imperative that it be treated before being returned to the river. It was also discovered that the green alga Cladophora sp. grew rapidly in the biological treatment tubs and will present a significant challenge for the treatment of the reservoir discharge water using the currently proposed alum treatment.
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MDPI and ACS Style
Missimer, T.M.; Tsegaye, S.; Thomas, S.; Danley-Thomson, A.; Michael, P.R.
Evaluation of Seasonal Reservoir Water Treatment Processes in Southwest Florida: Protection of the Caloosahatchee River Estuary. Water 2024, 16, 2145.
https://doi.org/10.3390/w16152145
AMA Style
Missimer TM, Tsegaye S, Thomas S, Danley-Thomson A, Michael PR.
Evaluation of Seasonal Reservoir Water Treatment Processes in Southwest Florida: Protection of the Caloosahatchee River Estuary. Water. 2024; 16(15):2145.
https://doi.org/10.3390/w16152145
Chicago/Turabian Style
Missimer, Thomas M., Seneshaw Tsegaye, Serge Thomas, Ashley Danley-Thomson, and Peter R. Michael.
2024. "Evaluation of Seasonal Reservoir Water Treatment Processes in Southwest Florida: Protection of the Caloosahatchee River Estuary" Water 16, no. 15: 2145.
https://doi.org/10.3390/w16152145
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