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Public lecture presents approach to reducing phosphorous pollution from septic systems

What's Happening?
Dr. Kevin Finneran, assistant professor of environmental engineering and science at the University of Illinois, will discuss his technology development project, “Phosphorus Reduction Process for Septic Systems.”

His project is supported by the Cooperative Institute for Coastal and Estuarine Environmental Technology (CICEET). A partnership of the University of New Hampshire and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, CICEET advances tools for clean water and healthy coastal habitats.

When?
Tuesday, June 3, 2008 @ 3:00 p.m.

When?
Hugh Gregg Coastal Conservation Center
Great Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve
89 Depot Road, Greenland, N.H.

Directions: www.greatbay.org/staff/whenandwhere.html

About the Project
More than 25 million homes in the United States use on-site septic systems to treat household wastewater. However, traditional septic systems remove only a small percentage of harmful nutrients, such as nitrogen and phosphorus, that this wastewater contains. The rest flows into groundwater, streams, and coastal waters, where it can threaten human health, harm ecosystems, and impact water quality.

Dr. Finneran and his team are developing a novel strategy to decrease phosphorus pollution from septic systems. His approach involves the amendment of wastewater with a form of iron that promotes the microbial reduction of phosphorous to the inert mineral vivianite.

This project, which began in September of 2007, is already showing promise for the removal of phosphorous, and the enhancement of overall system function. The goal is to provide a simple, affordable technique that can be used in new septic systems, or as a retrofit for existing ones.

Presenter Bio
Dr. Kevin T. Finneran’s research focuses on anaerobic microbial physiology and ecology and remediation of contaminants in natural and engineered systems.

In addition to research and teaching, he is the co-editor in chief of the International Journal of Soil, Sediment, and Water and serves on the editorial board of Soil and Sediment Contamination: an International Journal.

He received a Ph.D. in microbiology at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and a B.S. in Environmental Sciences from Rutgers University.

RSVP & More Information
If you plan to attend this lecture, or for more information, please contact CICEET’s program coordinator:

Cindy Tufts
603.862.3676
cindy.tufts@unh.edu

If you would like to learn about other CICEET projects related to the monitoring and reduction of nutrient pollution in the coastal environment, visit Project Explorer, our online searchable database at http://ciceet.unh.edu