Snow Fluent - Disposal of Wastewater with Snow Guns
Snow Fluent comes from the word Effluent, which is what the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) calls the wastewater that companies such as Maine Wild Blueberry Company and Mapleton Sewer District dispose of.
In the summer months, Maine Wild Blueberry Company sprays the water on the ground in the wooded areas with sprinklers, and the trees and grass takes up the nutrients, as the soil filters and cleans the water. Historically, in the winter they would have to store the water in large expensive holding ponds and dispose of it in the summer after the snow and frost is gone. Now they are allowed to make large piles of snow and store it on the land in these large piles, which melt slowly into the ground all Spring and Summer. Because they use the air compressor and break the water molecules up into small particles in cold weather, it has proven to kill the bacteria and pretreat the water making the run off Clean. Because the snow covers the ground, this keeps the frost out of the ground under the piles so the water which melts goes into the ground.
Mapleton Sewer District uses it for disposal of their Sanitary Wastewater. Maine Wild Blueberry Company uses it to dispose of Blueberry Process water, from a wild blueberry processing plant. They have been inspected by the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) several times and they love this concept.
“I was looking for ways to save money and protect the environment during winter production. Making large snow piles, which melt slowly into the ground during the warmer spring and summer months, is the least expensive and best environmental practice. After years of research visiting many snow discharge sites, Ratnik Industries, Inc. is the only snow making company that manufactures a snow gun suitable for my operation. The Mid-Energy Baby Snow Giant II+II did not require a booster pump for water pressure, required a smaller air compressor, are very easy to move higher on the pile as the piles grow and I could use my existing HDPE poly pipe infrastructure from summer operations. Once above the tree line the wind carries the snow further into the woods for a more even distribution.”
– Dan Bowker, Environmental Coordinator, Maine Wild Blueberry Company
