Phosphorus build up from commercial fertilizer and manure applications is one of the leading contributors to harmful algal blooms in western Lake Erie. To help protect Lake Erie’s water quality, EPA has partnered with Ohio EPA to conduct field trials of new approaches to reduce phosphorus losses. As a result of the H2Ohio Technology Assessment Program established in 2020, 10 innovative technologies were identified as having the potential to reduce HABs, if brought to scale. Great Lakes Restoration Initiative funding is currently supporting field trials of three of these promising technologies.

One project aims to demonstrate the potential of Electric Cell Lysis to treat manure lagoons.  The technology uses controlled electrical pulses to break down the organic material in the lagoon. The nutrient and phosphorus-heavy content sinks to the bottom and farmers are then able to apply the top layer of liquid manure on fields with significantly lower phosphorus levels. This method offers many advantages to the farmer, as it lowers the need for commercial fertilizer, and produces a valuable biproduct   in the phosphorus-rich solids left behind. As an added bonus, this method also results in fewer pathogens and less odor in the lagoon without the use of chemicals or additives.

The GLRI project partners are currently applying this technology in multiple manure lagoon systems at dairy operations in the western Lake Erie watershed. One of the pilot locations, Pfeifer Dairy Farms in Bucyrus, Ohio, recently hosted project partners from U.S. EPA, the Cleveland Water Alliance, Ohio EPA, Neundorfer, Inc., and Heidelberg University’s National Center for Water Quality Research (NCWQR) to learn more about the project.

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