Exterior of ammonia-phosphorus treatment facility, October 2004

Removing ammonia through advanced treatment

Onondaga Lake is a small waterbody that suffers from algal blooms. To reduce these blooms and their adverse effects, Onondaga County has added ammonia treatment to the effluent of the Metropolitan Syracuse Wastewater Treatment Plant. This plant serves most of Syracuse and many adjacent areas.

The County has chosen to use biological aerated filters (BAFs) to lower ammonia in the effluent. The technology is used extensively in Europe and has proven its effectiveness in a demonstration project that the County has completed.

Testing ammonia treatment technology.

It is critical that the technology be effective because Onondaga County's treatment goal is to reduce ammonia to 2 mg/L during summers and to 4 mg/L in winters. In the near future—the year 2012—the County will further reduce ammonia, to 1.2 mg/L in the summer and 2.4 mg/L in the winter.

Southern half of the BAF gallery

Southern half of the BAF gallery

Treatment technique

Eighteen new tanks were built for the ammonia treatment. The tanks are filled with polystyrene beads. These beads expand the surface area of the wastewater. Special bacteria in the tanks nitrify the nitrogen in the ammonia. Here are a few facts about the ammonia treatment:

466 trillion biostyrene beads were installed in the eighteen BAF cells. Each bead is 3.6 millimeters (0.14 inch) in diameter.
130,000 nozzles allow treated effluent to leave the cells while trapping the beads for continued use.
Each of the eighteen BAF cell holds 273,000 gallons of water effluent, totaling nearly 5 million gallons.

The result will be a better habitat for fish and wildlife, less algae, and a more aesthetically pleasing Onondaga Lake.