Nitrate Removal Research

For more than a decade, the groundwater supply of the Town of Okarche, Oklahoma, has been impacted by nitrate concentrations above the maximum contaminant level (MCL) outlined in standards set by the Safe Drinking Water Act. Garver worked with the Town to evaluate a new and innovative approach: biological nitrate removal (also referred to as denitrification). 

The first step involved completing pilot-level testing of multiple biological nitrate removal systems. This required coordination with Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality (ODEQ) staff to produce an approval pilot protocol with no existing installations, guidelines, or regulations governing biological nitrate removal systems. 

Garver is now developing an engineering report (ER) that will incorporate both the pilot results and a comparative analysis to ion exchange, resulting in four alternative solutions to address the elevated nitrate concentrations. The biological nitrate removal technologies being considered include biottta, Microvi, and Inotec.