SolarBee pumping project may lower mercury levels in Utah reservoir

The Salt Lake Tribune - Mon, 08/15/2011 - By Mark Havnes

Newcastle • Scientists at Newcastle Reservoir are stirring things up to see if a new technique using a solar-powered pump will reduce high mercury levels in the water. If it works, the procedure may be used on other contaminated bodies of water in Utah.

Newcastle is one of 16 bodies of water in Utah that have mercury levels high enough to prompt advisories about eating fish caught in them.

Hydrologists with the U.S. Geological Survey placed the platform pump in July near the dam of the reservoir, which is about 30 miles west of Cedar City.

Still Waters Run You Ragged

Stormwater - Mon, 08/01/2011 - By Janis Keating

Ponds can be a boon and a bane. For retaining or detaining water from a stormwater system, or within a site, they serve their purpose well; in addition, ponds can greatly enhance a site’s aesthetic appeal. On the flip side, however, that standing water can become an eyesore at best, a health hazard at worst. But keeping algae and breeding mosquitoes at bay can be a simpler matter if one takes a tip from nature—by keeping the water moving. Towering falls or raging rapids aren’t required; simple fountains, aerators, or bubblers can often do the trick.

Cypress swamp regains water quality with help from SolarBee circulators

Water and Wastes Digest Case of the Week - Fri, 07/22/2011 - By Patrick J. Schnaidt

Award-winning circulation technology reduces blue-green algae.

Greenfield Lake, an idyllic cypress swamp surrounded by walking paths and bridges, is a popular recreation area in Wilmington, North Carolina. Residents and visitors enjoy picnicking, gardens, an amphitheater, boating and fishing.

But when blue-green algae took over the swamp, the water turned to pea soup and weeds grew thick along the shore. The shallow, 100-acre reservoir is primarily fed by stormwater via several drainage pipes throughout the basin. Boaters preferred to go elsewhere.

Solar Powered Water Circulators to be Installed in Erie Reservoirs

Erie, Colorado Civic Alerts - Tue, 07/12/2011 - By Jon Mays, Water and Wastewater Operations

High Efficiency Units to Improve Raw Water Quality

Starting Tuesday, July 12, 2011, Department of Public Works contractors will install high efficiency solar-powered water circulators in Prince Reservoir and Erie Reservoir. Increased circulation of the water in the reservoirs will improve the quality of the Town’s raw water supply allowing staff to make adjustments in the operations of the Water Treatment Facility with minimal impact to our customers.

Other benefits of the water circulators include:

Gadget aims to breathe life into Baltimore's harbor dead zone

The Baltimore Sun - Fri, 05/27/2011 - By Timothy B. Wheeler

Solar-powered device to be tested for improving water quality

Something new is floating in the Inner Harbor. Not litter this time, but a space age-looking gadget meant to see whether new life can be breathed into the troubled body of water.

SolarBees to curb water discolouration this summer

The Drumheller Mail - Tue, 05/24/2011 - By Kyle Smylie

The Solar Bee circulation equipment has been installed in the town’s four water reservoirs to curb the water discolouration Drumheller residents saw pouring from their taps last fall.

The price tag included installation and delivery of the solar powered devices, and was approved by council in January.

“They’ll initiate some savings in power, chemical and hopefully down the road some time,” said Director of Infrastructure Allan Kendrick. It will reduce chemicals used to treat the water by treating it the natural way by keeping the water circulating.

SolarBees Are In Town - Drumheller, AB Canada

Drumheller Online - Fri, 05/13/2011 - By Grant Daly

SolarBee and H2O Logics have begun to install their water circulation devices in the valleys reservoir. The new devices were purchased by the town to help improve the quality of water entering the towns water plant.

SolarBees are designed to circulate water and control the growth of blue and green algae. The state of the art machines are programed to run at different speeds, adjusting to the time of day or season.

The magnetic motors for the water circulation devices are powered by solar panels, requiring no outside power source, and helping keep costs low.

Picture-Perfect Mixing

Water and Wastes Digest - Fri, 04/22/2011 - By Patrick J. Schnaidt

SolarBee mixers improve water quality for Yuma, AZ residents

Whoever said tanks were just for holding water? In Yuma, Arizona, the city’s three potable water tanks are works of art. Featuring colorful murals of the local landscape, the 50-foot high and 100-foot wide tanks are a drive-by gallery on display to anyone on Interstate 8. What’s more important, of course, is the quality of the water inside the tanks. Thanks to SolarBee mixers, Yuma’s drinking water is now picture-perfect.

Greening a Paradise

Water and Wastes Digest - Mon, 03/14/2011 - By Robert Nobile

There is a little piece of paradise in the foothills of the upper Piedmont area of North Carolina, but most residents just call it Eden. Like many small towns, Eden is prized for its unique attractions—a vintage drive-in movie theater, annual bluegrass concert and rubber duck regatta, to name a few—as well as proximity to big-city conveniences.

City saves a buck by mixing muck

The South County Spotlight - Wed, 02/16/2011 - By Tyler Graf

St. Helens hopes for eventual savings with new solar wastewater mixers

The purchase of nine new solar-powered wastewater mixers in St. Helens, to be used in the primary and secondary wastewater lagoons at the Wastewater Treatment Plant, is the realization of a decade-long energy-saving plan for the city’s facility.

The first seven of the mixers were bought last fall for use in the secondary lagoon, which receives waste from Boise Inc.'s paper mill facility, while two more will be purchased this week to be used in the primary lagoon.

 
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