Problem: Deep Surface Effluent Layers
Organic matter polluting effluent ponds with surface crust and sludge.
Effluent ponds on dairy farms suffer from two key problems:
- Organic waste from the cowshed forms a solid crust on the top of the pond.
- Dissolved waste moves to the bottom of the pond creating an ever-increasing sludge that reduces the amount of water in the pond available for irrigation.
As the organic waste builds, it renders the pond ineffective as a source of irrigation for the farm, and solid particles from the pond block drainage and irrigation systems.
The problem necessitates draining of the pond and mechanical clearance of the organic waste. This is always expensive, and where you have a lined pond it is very high risk, as it risks tearing the lining.
Some systems seek to resolve the problem by separating out the solids through introduction of weeping walls and other separation and collection facilities. These merely increase the problem as there is now a necessity to take those solids and spread them on the farm. This is expensive, time-consuming and usually has a negative effect on grazing paddocks.
The best solution is Efflu8.
All organic waste is allowed to go into the effluent pond where Efflu8 breaks it down quickly into dissolved nutrients. The surface crust is removed so the pond is open water and the sludge on the bottom is gradually dissolved. Once the pond is clear it is maintained in that condition through regular monthly dosage. The odours associated with the ponds are generally removed early in the treatment cycle.
The nutrients that have initially come from the grass in the paddocks, been eaten by the cows, excreted in the cowshed and surrounding areas, and have been washed into the effluent pond, now become nutrients again and irrigation returns them to the paddock, completing a nutrient use and reabsorption cycle.