Earlier this spring, the District organized the modification of the ferric chloride facility to meet new Minnesota Pollution Control Agency requirements, and increase the capacity of the system to provide treatment. The system is now actively running and helping to reduce some of the phosphorus from entering Spring Lake.
In March 2013, a crew started to construct the high-flow bypass.
Some of the key improvements to the system included upgrades to the ferric chloride feed line and a high-flow bypass that will allow the system to continue to remove phosphorus during very high flow events.
A picture of the new chemical feed pump inside the FeCl facility.
Recent testing has shown that the system, both the FeCl3 injection system and the downstream desiltation basin combined, provides an estimated removal of 35% of the Total Phosphorus (TP) from the County Ditch 13 system. This equates to preventing an average of more than 500 pounds per year of phosphorus from entering Spring Lake, which is impaired for excessive nutrients.