Mill Creek Park hopes new technology could prevent algae growth and fish kills

A Youngstown-based environmental company is running some tests around Mill Creek Park for the next few weeks, trying to find ways to kill off dangerous algae.

Green Water Solutions will be testing a new technology around Lake Newport over the next few weeks, using a system that puts more oxygen into waterways.

“A new form of aeration, similar to what we just installed at the Lily Pond,” said Nick Derico, natural resources steward at Mill Creek. “That system was designed to run 24 hours a day, 365. This will be more of a limited treatment period.”

The system doesn’t use hazardous chemicals. Instead, it sprays tiny ozone bubbles into the water.

“The technology is injecting ozone, infused into the nanobubbles,” said Chris Antinone, Jr., with Green Water Solutions. “The nanobubbles sink into the water. One of the things we are trying to do here is put it in downstream, let the nanobubbles come upstream, and see how far they work and how well it works coming up.”

The ozone turns into oxygen, and cleans out some of the nitrogen and other pollutants algae need to grow.

It’s being done in late summer because that’s when algae blooms are the worst.

Scientists from Youngstown State and federal agencies will monitor the results.

“They’re going to look at what’s in the water and what did we take out of the water,” Antinone said.

The park is interested to see how the project turns out. It’s been tested before at Mosquito Lake and in Florida.

This could be a way to control the dangerous bacterial growth like the one that killed thousands of fish in the park in 2015.

“In theory, it is possible,” Derico said. “I don’t want to say a solution, but it could help control those bacterias.”

The company will track nanobubbles down through the park’s waterways and see how far they travel.

Full article at wkbn.com