Table Of ContentBiotreatment
of
Agricultural
Wastewater
Editor
Mark E. Huntley, Ph.D.
Associate Research Biologist and Adjunct Lecturer
Scripps Institution of Oceanography
Deputy Director, Water Research Project
University of California, San Diego
La Jolla, California
Boca Raton London New York
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Biotreatment of agricultural wastewater/editor, Mark E. Huntley.
p. cm.
Bibliography: p.
Includes index.
ISBN 0-8493-6378-0
1. Sewage—Purification—Biological treatment. 2. Agricultural
Wastes. I. Huntley. Mark E., 1950—
TD755.B488 1989
628.1’684—dc19 88-32995
A Library of Congress record exists under LC control number: 88032995
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PREFACE
In early 1985 I learned from an article in Science1 that the Kesterson Reservoir, a
National Wildlife Refuge approximately 100 miles south of San Francisco which had in-
advertently become part of California's vast San Joaquin Valley agricultural drainage system,
had become contaminated with concentrations of selenium sufficiently high to result in mass
mortality of fish and birds. This event was widely unanticipated,2"4 but was soon a major
story in the world press. In early 1986, a U.S. Department of Interior study identified nine
similar sites in six western states where selenium was of concern.5
It appeared from all accounts that dissolved selenium was being removed from waters
of the reservoir by naturally occurring algae and was from there being passed throughout
the food web to wreak havoc among the populations of higher predators. I had long been
interested in the mass culture of microalgae, and it seemed to me that this was a case where
such technology could be beneficially applied. During the following months, in an effort to
discuss this possibility with representatives of relevant state and federal agencies, I met with
David Kennedy, Director of the State of California Department of Water Resources, Jesse
Hough, Director of Finance of the state, several state legislators, representatives of the U.S.
Bureau of Reclamation, and many scientists who were also concerned with the Kesterson
problem.
It is not surprising that agricultural wastewater problems in California are not limited
to selenium contamination; other metals, nitrates, and salinization in general make significant
contributions to the dilemma. The situation is grave; irrigation return water threatens to
reduce California's arable land by 20% by the turn of the century,6 and agricultural regions
around the world may face similar problems.
Considering the many advances in biology in the past decade, it certainly seemed that
the time was right for an integrated discussion — involving scientists, legislators, admin-
istrators, and businessmen — of the role which biotechnology might play in decontaminating
agricultural wastewater. With this as the premise, a workshop was organized and held at
Scripps Institution of Oceanography August 3 to 5, 1987. Chapters appearing in this book
resulted either from manuscripts which authors brought to the meeting or from manuscripts
written as a result of working group discussions.
The meeting which resulted in this book would never have taken place if it were not
for the substantial contributions of a number of agencies. Primary contributors ($3000 or
more) included
Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Department of Interior
California Sea-Grant College Program, University of California
Alternate Technology Section, Toxic Substances Control Division, Department of Health
Services, State of California
Department of Water Resources, State of California
Institute of Marine Resources, University of California
University of California Toxic Substances Research and Training Program, University of
California, Davis
Additional contributions were also made by Microbio Resources, Inc., Woodward/Clyde
Environmental Consultants (both of San Diego), and by the Office of the Director, Scripps
Institution of Oceanography. Without Director Frieman's initial contribution, expressing his
strong support for the concept, it would have been difficult to solicit subsequent contributions.
I sincerely thank the many people whose commitments of time and effort contributed greatly
at various junctures: Thyra Fleming, Mai Lopez, Nicholas Medeiros, Sue Stultz, and Paul
Sykes. Finally, many thanks are due to Florence Escritor, who helped at many critical points
along the organizational path to assure an orderly and successful meeting, adequate com-
munications between participants, and timely coordination and editing of the manuscripts.
Mark Huntley
Scripps Institution of Oceanography
La Jolla, California
February 1988
REFERENCES
1. Marshall, E,, Selenium poisons refuge, California politics, Science, 239, 144, 1985.
2. Marshall, E., San Joaquin flooded with water researchers, Science, 230, 920, 1985.
3. Brown, R. L. and Beck, L. A., Subsurface agricultural drainage in California's San Joaquin Valley, in
Biotreatment of Agricultural Wastewater, Huntley, M., Ed., CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, 1989, chap. 1.
4. Lee, E. W Current options in treatment of agricultural wastewater, in Biotreatment of Agricultural
M
Wastewater, Huntley, M., Ed., CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, 1989, chap. 3.
5. Marshall, E., High selenium levels confirmed in six states, Science, 227, 111, 1985.
6. Kennedy, D., personal communication, November 1985.
The following persons attended the meeting:
Dr. Farooq Azam, Research Microbiologist, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, A-018,
University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093
Mr. Louis Beck, District Chief, San Joaquin District, Department of Water Resources,
3374 East Shields Avenue, Fresno, CA 93726
Dr. James Blackburn, Assistant Director, Waste Management Research and Education
Institute, University of Tennessee, 327 South Stadium Hall, Knoxville, TN 37996-0710
Mr. Charles R. Booth, President, Biospherical Instruments, 4901 Morena Boulevard #1003,
San Diego, CA 92117
Dr. Randall Brown, Water Quality Biologist, Department of Water Resources, Central
District, 3251 S Street, Sacramento, CA 95816
Dr. Richard Cassin, Research Molecular Biologist, Helicon Foundation, 4622 Santa Fe
Street, San Diego, CA 92109
Mr. Tom Collins, Associate Director, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, A-010, La
Jolla, CA 92093
Mr. James Costa, State Assemblyman, California State Assembly, State Capitol, Sacra-
mento, CA 95814
Dr. Ronald Crawford, Professor and Head, Department of Bacteriology and Biochemistry,
University of Idaho, Moscow, ID 83843
Dr. Joel de la Noiie, Professor, Centre de Recherche en Nutrition, Universite Laval, Quebec,
Quebec, Canada G1K 7P4
Dr. Eirik Duerr, Research Biologist, Oceanic Institute, Waimanalo, HI 96795
Mr. Dexter Gaston, President, Microbio Resources Inc., 6150 Lusk Boulevard, San Diego,
CA 92121
Dr. Richard Gersberg, Professor of Microbiology, San Diego State University, San Diego,
CA
Dr. Mark Huntley, Research Biologist, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University
of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093
Mr. Franklin ("Pitch") Johnson, President, Asset Management Company, 2275 East
Bayshore Drive, Palo Alto, CA 94303
Dr. Roger Korus, Professor of Chemical Engineering, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID
83843
Dr. Edwin Lee, Chief, Technology Development Section, San Joaquin Valley Drainage
Program, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, MP-190, 2800 Cottage Way, Sacramento, CA
95825
Dr. Patrick Mayzaud, Director, INRS Oceanologie, 310 Ave des Ursulines, Rimouski,
Quebec, Canada G5L 3A1
Dr. Arthur Nonomura, Visiting Scholar, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla,
CA 92093
Dr. William Oswald, Professor of Sanitary Engineering and Public Health, College of
Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720
Mr. Steve Pearson, Director, Process-Engineering Group, Woodward/Clyde Consultants,
3467 Kurtz Street, San Diego, CA 92110
Dr. Donald Redalje, Research Biologist, Center for Marine Science, National Space Tech-
nology Center, University of Southern Mississippi, NSTL, MS 39529
Dr. Gary Sayler, Professor, Graduate Program in Ecology, University of Tennessee, Knox-
ville, TN 37916
Dr. Edward Schroeder, Professor of Civil Engineering, University of California, Davis,
CA
Dr. Gedaliah Shelef, Professor of Environmental Engineering and Biotechnology, Dean of
the Faculty of Civil Engineering, Israel Institute of Technology, Technion, Haifa 32-000,
Israel
Dr. Edmund Sperkowski, Transtech Trading Co., 5440 Morehouse Drive, Suite 102A,
San Diego, CA 92121
Mr. Paul Stephens, Robertson, Colman and Stephens, 1 Embarcadero Center, Suite 3100,
San Francisco, CA 94111
Dr. Aristides Yayanos, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, A-002, University of Cali-
fornia, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093
THE EDITOR
Mark E. Huntley, Ph.D., is Associate Research Biologist and Adjunct Lecturer, Marine
Biology Research Division, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, CA, and Deputy
Director, Water Research Project, University of California, San Diego.
Dr. Huntley graduated in 1976 from the University of Victoria, Victoria, British Co-
lumbia, with a B.Sc. degree in Biology (first class honors). He obtained his Ph.D. degree
in biological oceanography in 1980 from Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia. After
doing postdoctoral work at the Institute of Marine Resources, Scripps Institution of Ocean-
ography, he was appointed Assistant Research Biologist. In 1984 he moved to the Marine
Biology Research Division, where he was appointed Associate Research Biologist in 1987.
Dr. Huntley is a member of the American Society of Limnology and Oceanography, as
well as the honorary society Sigma Xi. He has been a recipient of a NATO postdoctoral
fellowship (1980 to 1982). He has served in an advisory capacity to the Mayor's Sewer
Task Force of the City of San Diego and to the Marine Review Committee of the California
Coastal Commission. He was senior scientific advisor to Encyclopedia Brittanica Films for
a film entitled * 'Plankton and the Open Sea'' (1985). In 1987 he led a 4-month oceanographic
expedition to the Antarctic. He is also president of Aquasearch, Inc., a research and de-
velopment corporation specializing in the technology of algal mass cultures (1984 to 1988).
Dr. Huntley has been the recipient of grants and contracts from the National Science
Foundation, the Office of Naval Research, the Solar Energy Research Institute, and the Sea-
Grant College Program. He is the author of more than 30 papers and has presented more
than 50 lectures at national and international meetings, institutes, and universities throughout
the world. His current research interests include the physiological ecology of zooplankton,
the effects of plankton on optical properties of seawater, and the application of algal mass
culture technology to wastewater treatment and the production of chemicals and pharma-
ceuticals.
CONTRIBUTORS
Louis A. Beck, B.S. Eirik O. Duerr, Ph.D.
Chief, San Joaquin District Research Scientist and Program Manager
California Department of Water Aquaculture Research Service Program
Resources The Oceanic Institute
Fresno, California Waimanalo, Hawaii
Matthew B. Gerhardt, M.S.
James W. Blackburn, Ph.D.
Research Assistant
Research Associate Professor
Sanitary Engineering and Environmental
Department of Chemical Engineering
Health Research Laboratory
Center for Environmental Biotechnology
University of California
Energy, Environment, and Resources
Berkeley, California
Center
University of Tennessee
F. Bailey Green, M.S.
Knoxville, Tennessee
Energy and Resources Group
University of California
Randall L. Brown, Ph.D. Berkeley, California
Environmental Program Manager
California Department of Water Mark E. Huntley, Ph.D.
Resources Associate Research Biologist
Sacramento, California Marine Biology Research Division
Scripps Institution of Oceanography
La Jolla, California
Richard C. Cassin, Ph.D.
Research Member of the Foundation
Franklin P. Johnson, Jr.
Department of Ocean Sciences
Lecturer in Management
Helicon Foundation
Graduate School of Business
San Diego, California
Stanford University
Stanford, California
Paris H. Chen, Ph.D.
Senior Engineer and Technical Consultant Edwin W. Lee, E.D./D.P.A.
R.C.M., Inc. Supervisory Environmental Engineer
Methane Recovery Systems San Joaquin Valley Drainage Program
Berkeley, California U. S. Bureau of Reclamation
Sacramento, California
Ronald L. Crawford, Ph.D.
Patrick Mayzaud, D.Sc.
Professor and Head
Director
Department of Bacteriology and
Department of Oceanography
Biochemistry
I.N.R.S.
University of Idaho
Rimouski, Quebec, Canada
Moscow, Idaho
Robert D. Newman, B.A.
Joel de la Noiie, D.Sc. Junior Associate
Professor Department of Civil Engineering
Department of Biology SHEERL
University of Laval University of California
Ste.-Foy, Quebec, Canada Berkeley, California
Arthur M. Nonomura, Ph.D. Donald G. Redalje, Ph.D.
Chief Technological Advisor Assistant Professor
United Nations Development Program Center for Marine Science
United Nations University of Southern Mississippi
New York, New York John C. Stennis Space Center
SSC, Mississippi
Yakup Nurdogan, Ph.D.
Gary S. Sayler, Ph.D.
Chemical Engineer
Professor and Director
Bechtel Environmental, Inc.
Center for Environmental Biotechnology
San Francisco, California
University of Tennessee
Knoxville, Tennessee
Kirk T. O'Reilly, Ph.D.
Gedaliah Shelef, Ph.D.
Department of Bacteriology and
Professor and Dean
Biochemistry
Department of Civil Engineering
University of Idaho
Israel Institute of Technology
Moscow, Idaho
Technion
Haifa, Israel
William J. Oswald, Ph.D.
Professor Leslie Shown, M.S.
Departments of Civil Engineering and Junior Associate
Public Health College of Engineering
University of California University of California
Berkeley, California Berkeley, California
Christine S. Tarn
Steven Pearson, B.S. Engineering Aid
Vice President College of Engineering
Woodward-Clyde Consultants University of California
San Diego, California Berkeley, California
David F. Von Hip pel, Ph.D.
Research Associate
Energy Systems Research Group
Boston, Massachusetts
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter 1
Subsurface Agricultural Drainage in California's San Joaquin Valley 1
Randall L. Brown and Louis A. Beck
Chapter 2
Deciding on a Treatment Alternative 15
Steven Pearson
Chapter 3
Current Options in Treatment of Agricultural Drainage Wastewater 33
Edwin W. Lee
Chapter 4
Biotechnology in Environmental Engineering 47
Gedaliah Shelef
Chapter 5
Modern Biological Methods: The Role of Biotechnology 53
Gary S. Sayler and James W. Blackburn
Chapter 6
Bacterial Decontamination of Agricultural Wastewaters 73
Ronald L. Crawford and Kirk T. O'Reilly
Chapter 7
Algae as Ideal Waste Removers: Biochemical Pathways 91
Donald G. Redalje, Eirik O. Duerr, Joel de la Noiie, Patrick Mayzaud, Arthur M.
Nonomura, and Richard C. Cassin
Chapter 8
Algal Culture Systems Ill
Mark E. Huntley, Arthur M. Nonomura, and Joel de la Noiie
Chapter 9
The Role of Microalgae in Removal of Selenate from Subsurface Tile Drainage 131
William J. Oswald, Paris H. Chen, Matthew B. Gerhardt, F. Bailey Green, Yakup
Nurdogan, David F. Von Hippel, Robert D. Newman, Leslie Shown, and Christine S.
Tarn
Chapter 10
The Engineering of Microalgae Mass Cultures for Treatment of Agricultural Wastewater,
with Special Emphasis on Selenium Removal from Drainage Waters 143
Gedaliah Shelef
Chapter 11
Is There an "Uncertainty Principle" in Microbial Waste Treatment? 149
James W. Blackburn
