December 2020 | Volume 10 | Issue 7

Biosolids: The Ultimate Recycling Success Story

BY ALLISON MACKENZIE, CEO

In the wastewater treatment world, biosolids are often seen as the ultimate recycling success story. Biosolids are the nutrient-rich organic byproducts resulting from wastewater treatment and over 60% of biosolids produced nationally in the U.S. are land applied. They are used in agriculture, landscaping, forestry, and even by homeowners on lawns and gardens. Although biosolids are under scrutiny once again due to the source of their composition—human and industrial waste—preliminary evidence suggests that the beneficial use of biosolids rests on solid ground.

To learn more about the future of biosolids, new Babcock staff member, Colleen Thompson, interviewed Greg Kester, Director of Renewable Resource Programs at the California Association of Sanitation Agencies (CASA). Greg is the subject matter expert when it comes to emerging issues regarding all renewable energy, recycled water, biosolids, and climate change mitigation. “Biosolids have a plethora of benefits, they assist in creating healthy soils which help crop growth, they are significant mitigators of climate change, reduce irrigation use, offset the use of inorganic fertilizers, and essentially are the best example of recycling,” said Kester. In fact, many agricultural areas depend on biosolids to help provide micronutrients such as phosphorus to help enrich their soils and produce plentiful crops. Kester went on to say that, “Phosphorus is a finite resource that will be exhausted within a hundred years and it is vital that we recycle the amounts of phosphorus that come from our wastewater treatment facilities through biosolids.” Clearly, Mr. Kester is a fan of biosolids and knows his stuff.

But Kester also recognizes that the world of biosolids land application has a new potential challenge. The man-made forever chemical compounds collectively called Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) have caused concern over the possibility for inadvertent contamination of... read more

A Quick Year in Review: 2020

As we welcome the end of an unprecedented year and prepare to welcome 2021, we would like to reflect on some of the key industry topics of 2020 that will likely provide clues to the issues and challenges our industry is sure to experience in the New Year.

January: WOTUS Protection Roll Back

2020 began with the Trump administration announcing intentions to roll back wetland protections, significantly weakening the current set of regulations protecting small streams and wetlands from pollution. Given the possibility that 2 out of 3 of California’s freshwater streams could be endangered by this federal policy change, California regulators acted to strengthening protections of wetlands and streams in the state.

February: Division of Drinking Water

In February, against the concerns of many public water systems, the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) Division of Drinking Water (DDW) changed the Response Level (RL) for Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) to 10 parts per trillion (ppt) and Perfluorooctanoic Sulfonate (PFOS) to 40 ppt. According to California law (Assembly Bill 756 enacted in 2019), if a water system receives a SWRCB order for testing and finds the PFOA or PFOS... read more

Babcock Laboratories Found a More Permanent Home in Imperial County!

Babcock Laboratories, Inc. (Babcock Labs) is pleased to announce the relocation of our service center in Imperial County. Effective Monday, December 14th, 2020, Babcock Laboratories, Inc. will be conveniently located in El Centro and will occupy a clean, modern, and easily accessed facility on 1550 Pepper Drive. We will continue to follow our current Imperial County operating hours and sample drop off time-windows until further notice. We are pleased to have found a more permanent home in Imperial County.

Babcock Labs is no stranger to the Coachella and Imperial Valleys and has a well-established reputation for excellence in customer service and quality analytical testing for over 114 years. Please contact us if you have any questions.

In Case You Missed It:

Does La Niña Have Other Plans for So Cal’s Typical Wet Winter? (read more)

Elementary California Water Basics—Getting an Education from the Foundation (read more)

To Grab or to Composite...That is the PFAS Question! (read more)

From the Ashes: Wildfire Effects on Water Quality (read more)

From the TOP to Bottom: TOP Assay Not Likely to Close Mass Balance to Total PFAS (read more)

And the 2020 Survey Says... (read more)

Holiday Reminder

Babcock Labs will be closed Friday, December 25th in observance of Christmas and Friday, January 1st in observance of New Year's Day (Contact Project Manager)

Did you know?

Babcock Labs is CA ELAP accredited to perform all 18 analytes for EPA Method 537.1 and all 38 analytes under the DoD QSM 5.3. Also offered at Babcock Labs is EPA Method 533 for short-chain PFAs analytes. ( learn more)

Have you heard about Babcock Labs new sample receiving procedure? (learn more)