Limestone fluidized bed treatment of acid-impacted water at the Craig Brook National Fish Hatchery, Maine, USA

AbstractDecades of atmospheric acid deposition have resulted in widespread lake and river acidification in the northeastern U.S. Biological effects of acidification include increased mortality of sensitive aquatic species such as the endangered Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar). The purpose of this paper is to describe the development of a limestone-based fluidized bed system for the treatment of acid-impacted waters. The treatment system was tested at the Craig Brook National Fish Hatchery in East Orland, Maine over a period of 3 years. The product water from the treatment system was diluted with hatchery water to prepare water supplies with three different levels of alkalinity for testing of fish health and survival. Based on positive results from a prototype system used in the first year of the study, a larger demonstration system was used in the second and third years with the objective of decreasing operating costs. Carbon dioxide was used to accelerate limestone dissolution, and was the major factor in system performance, as evidenced by the model result: Alk=72.84×P(CO2)1/2; R2=0.975. No significant acidic incursions were noted for the control water over the course of the study. Had these incursions occurred, survivability in the untreated water would likely have been much more severely impacted. Treated water consistently provided elevated alkalinity and pH above that of the hatchery source water