AguaCulture Technologies: Changing the waters of Lake O and Beyond. Pg 40-45

AguaCulture Proof of Concept Underway on Lake O

Florida Fish and Wildlife is focusing on physically removing invasive plants from the lake because they can reduce water quality and can make navigation on the lake next to impossible for boaters. Removing the plants involves using a mechanical harvester.

After removing the plants, they’re turning into a semi-liquid mixture that is pumped to nearby fields. It is used to enhance the soil with the extra nutrients we don’t want in the water.

After 20 years of research, innovation, testing, hard work, setbacks and a considerable amount of opposition, Nick Szabo’s dream finally became a reality. An environmentally friendly and economically efficient solution to the invasive vegetation and legacy nutrient biomass problem that has plagued Florida’s waterways for decades. The GreenMach™ One.

In partnership with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the South Florida Water Management District, the work began March 8 and will cover 35 acres on the lake.

Now the Army Corps is doing what the FWC is testing out, which is to use harvesters to cut trails in the water, clear navigation channels, and remove the plant from around water intake systems, dams and locks. The FWC, however, is taking things a step further by processing the plants into a nutrient-rich slurry and the donating it to farmers.

“The problem with most projects is they are not scalable,” Szabo said. “This can be scaled.”