C A L I F O R N I A
Vegetables A SPECIAL GROWERS’ REPORT OF AG ALERT ®
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Startup uses beneficial bacteria to aid water quality
ByBob Johnson Beneficial bacteria that quickly and effective- ly convert tailwater nitrates into gases could help
answe r an env i ronment a l challenge facing farmers, ac- cording to a Sal inas-based startup company.
Farmers face increased reg- ulatory pressure to deal with nitrates that begin in well wa- ter, increase as irrigation flows over the nitrogen-rich topsoil and end up in tailwater ponds or ditches. “The advent of Ag Waiver 4.0 is going to hit the growers hard next year,” said John Skardon, found- er and CEO of Tai lwater Systems, referr ing to a regional water-quality regulation for the Central Coast. “Growers will have to fix nitrate contami- nation or pay a fine. An alternative is recycling the runoff water.” Tai lwater Systems uses benef icial bacter ia to remove ni t rates on Cent ra l Coas t f arms f rom Castroville to Santa Barbara County, and also in the Central Valley. “Our flagship product is an anaerobic nitrate re- moval bioreactor,” Skardon said. “This system is capable of removing 95% to 99% of nitrates within 90 minutes.” The company is among the startup firms being nur- tured at the Center for Innovation & Technology that Western Growers opened in Salinas five years ago to encourage innovation that might help agriculture re- spond to new challenges. Although nitrate removal could go a long way to- ward satisfying water-quality regulators, Skardon, whose credentials include a doctorate from Clemson University in chemical engineering, said he sees his mission primarily as helping farmers use their resourc- es more efficiently. “Our companywas set up to help agriculture; wewere not set up to enforce regulations,” he said. While making it more affordable to meet demands of water quality regulators, he said, reducing nitrates to a level crops can tolerate may also make it possible to recycle scarce water. “We have done work for growers in the Central Valley, the Central Coast and down in Santa Barbara,” Skardon said. “The operations include row crops, greenhouse growers and some berries. We can also remove salt and other contaminants in the tailwater. You have to knock the nitrates down some or you will burn the vegetable crops. Rather than flush the water down a ditch or into the ocean, growers can recycle the water back into the system.” Treatment to remove salts and nitrates could be par- ticularly useful in greenhouses wherewater recirculates in a closed system. “If you’re growing in substrate, you can catch the See BENEFICIAL, Page 8
John Skardon, founder and CEO of Tailwater Systems in Salinas, says his company’s system can remove up to 99% of nitrates from agricultural tailwater within 90 minutes.
October 7, 2020 Ag Alert 7
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