Highly-Treated Water in Irrigation Project Gets Retired Agent’s Thumbs Down

CREST HAVEN — A project to daily reuse up to 300,000 gallons of water for irrigation and zoo purposes closed Crest Haven Road recently between Route 9 and Garden State Parkway. Pipes were “jacked” beneath the parkway, and are being placed to the County Park and Zoo, college campus and Middle Township sports complex.
That water, specially processed to remove various impurities at the county Municipal Utilities Authority’s Seven Mile Beach Middle wastewater treatment plant through $2.5 million of newly-installed equipment, will be used from spring through fall to flush toilets and clean cages, irrigate Atlantic Cape Community College campus grounds and Middle Township’s Davies Sports Complex fields.
“Our biggest concern is conveyance of pathogens and bacteria,” said MUA Executive Director Charles Norkis.
For that reason, Norkis said that the process, advocated by the state Department of Environmental Protection, which is funding two-thirds of the project, is being done with the oversight of that state agency and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which has long advocated such use of treated water.
The project has been discussed locally since 2006, and was first reported here April 12 of that year. It is expected to begin this fall, and should be in full use next year.
“This is not new, although it is new in Cape May County,” Norkis said.
Regardless of the amount of treatment, retired County Agent Larry Newbold remains unconvinced, and vowed “not to let my grandchildren play on any of the fields” where the treated water flows.
Newbold cited a Penn State University bulletin (No. 851, March 1985), acquired by the late Grant Walton and distributed to county agents, that focuses on land application of sewage sludge, which is not what the MUA project is using.
Newbold cited passages in the document, “Moreover, the absence of information concerning the organic constituents of municipal sewage sludge must not be equated with low risk or safety. Under conditions of minimal data, maximal risk must b assumed in order to protect public health.”
He also fears that regardless of the amount of treatment, pathogens will survive in the soil.
“Survival times have varied with environmental conditions in the receiving soil,” the bulletin states, again, dealing with sewage sludge, which contains solids, and not what the irrigation water will be.
“It is apparent that roundworm ova, especially those of Ascaris, are prevalent in sludges and are resistant to sludge treatment. They survive for extended periods in the soil and could pose a problem in land disposal of sludges, particularly on high-rate application sites,” the bulletin states.
“Most of the commonly used sludge treatment processes reduce but do not eliminate pathogens. Therefore, even treated sludge should be used with discretion,” it continued.
“Roundworm ova survive common sludge treatment processes, sometimes in high numbers, and can persist for extended periods in the soil,” it adds.
Norkis said that portion of the treatment plant’s 5.5 million gallons to be used in the irrigation project will be filtered through sand, “denitrified,” treated “with a very good disinfection” under stringent EPA and DEP mandates.
Then, it will be treated with ultraviolet light and chlorine.
“We could have gone with UV light or chlorine. We went with both. We will double chlorinate the water and it will also pass through a UV filter,” Norkis said.
“That means it will be double disinfected. I don’t think anybody has ever done that. Everybody uses one method only,” he added.
The end product that will water fields and clean animal cages will be “very, very clear,” said Norkis.
Norkis cited an Evesham Township golf course which uses treated sewage effluent to irrigate its fairways and greens. That course, he said, does not treat effluent to the level that the local project will treat its end product.
“We did not enter this lightly,” said Norkis. “We attended a lot of sessions on this, including one in San Antonio, Texas. This (water recycling) is really coming into its own. It is being pushed by states and environmental consultants.”
He said personnel who will operate the treatment equipment embraced the concept, read extensively about it, and attended various seminars to become comfortable with all phases of the operation and treatment.
“This is their field. They are really excited about this. We feel very comfortable that they will be able to operate the equipment in the correct manner to ensure the public’s safety,” Norkis said.
An MUA engineer will be charged with oversight of the project and process, and will monitor the daily work.
According to a county news release, the county is assuming responsibility for installation of the pipes needed for the project, which also included fiber optics for county offices.
Total length of the pipe from treatment plant to Goshen (Davies) Sports Complex is about three miles.
In addition to irrigating the County Park and Zoo, sports complex and college campus, pipes will also send the water to the Veterans Cemetery and county Technical School’s athletic fields.
Parts of this story were first published at capemaycountyherald.com
Contact Campbell at (609) 886-8600 ext 28 or at: al.c@cmcherald.com