BlueInGreen to Test Cost Effective Dissolved Oxygen Injection for Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration

BlueInGreen, an Arkansas-based Company, Awarded Grant from the National Science Foundation for Demonstration of Supersaturated Dissolved Oxygen Injection at Norfork Dam

FAYETTEVILLE, AR (October 31, 2008) – BlueInGreen has developed supersaturated dissolved oxygen delivery systems (SDOX^TM) for a variety of applications. Their SDOX systems have been shown to perform better and cost less than competing technologies for oxygenation of wastewater effluent. The company now plans to apply its SDOX technology to another persistent problem: oxygenation of water in hydroelectric reservoirs and tailrace rivers. Oxygen problems in reservoirs occur during the summer and fall because the cold, deeper waters do not circulate to the surface and become very low in dissolved oxygen (DO). Since the tailrace rivers exiting a dam often flow from the depths of a reservoir, these rivers can also experience seasonal problems with low DO. These problems have been well documented at Norfork Dam located in North Central Arkansas. Low DO adversely affects trout fishing in North Fork River (the tailrace river of Norfork Dam) and has caused the river to be placed on the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality´s (ADEQ) 303(d) list for impaired water bodies. The North Fork River is just one example of a multitude of waterways across the nation and world that are impaired by low DO.

Norfork Dam and the North Fork River are valuable resources to the State of Arkansas for a number of reasons, including flood damage reduction, generation of hydroelectric power and creation of a cold water supply for trout fishing and a trout hatchery. In 1991, a panel of experts was assembled to form the White River Dissolved Oxygen Committee. The purpose of the committee is to discover and evaluate potential solutions to the problem of low dissolved oxygen and make recommendations for improving water quality below the hydropower projects within the Upper White River watershed, including Norfork Dam. In 2005, BlueInGreen began working with the White River Dissolved Oxygen Committee to explore using the SDOX technology to address the low DO problem while meeting the needs of the many entities concerned with this issue. BlueInGreen applied for and received a competitive grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to demonstrate how the SDOX system can solve this multifaceted problem at Norfork Dam.

BlueInGreen has designed and constructed two mobile SDOX units using funds from NSF. These SDOX units will be used to study the effects of dissolved oxygen injection at several locations during the Fall of 2008. One study will be conducted in the water flowing from the dam into Norfork National Fish Hatchery. SDOX will be used to add dissolved oxygen to some of the raceways at the hatchery to allow for side-by-side comparison with raceways that are not treated with SDOX. Improvements to water quality and overall effects on fish health will be documented. A second study will be conducted to document SDOX injection into the North Fork River directly below the dam during conditions of low flow. The goal of this experiment will be to maintain a dissolved oxygen concentration of 6 mg/L in North Fork River since this is the concentration of dissolved oxygen required by the ADEQ. Capital and operating costs of the SDOX system will be determined and compared to costs of traditional technologies.

BlueInGreen is confident that these studies will demonstrate the superiority of the SDOX system over competing oxygen delivery technologies. The SDOX system is the only technology that can effectively add oxygen in both shallow and deep water applications which allows for delivery options tailored for each application. Furthermore, the SDOX system is the most cost efficient method for maintaining high DO concentrations, such as the 6 mg/L DO required in the North Fork River. Dr. Scott Osborn, Chief Technology Officer of BlueInGreen, is excited about the upcoming deployments at Norfork, "We think that these deployments will show that the SDOX system is the technology of choice for cost-effective addition of dissolved oxygen to reservoirs, rivers and fish rearing facilities. We are confident that BlueInGreen has the best available equipment to solve the problems at Norfork and at similar facilities across the nation."