Sludge-treated forest is sprouting in KC
Posted to the SludgeWatch list serv from The Kansas City Star.
Full article is available at
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/local/
3118209.htm? template=con tentModules/printstory.jsp
------------------------------------------------------------------------
April 23, 2002
Sludge-treated forest is sprouting in KC
By BILL GRAHAM, The Kansas City Star
Toilet flushes and a forest's first sprouts are becoming allied forces for
nature in Kansas City.
City agronomist Timothy Walters is putting sewage sludge to use as tree
fertilizer in a rare conversion of Missouri River bottom farmland back to
forest.
Crews are planting more than 20 species of trees on city-owned land near the
Birmingham Wastewater Treatment Plant in Kansas City, North, land that has
been used to grow crops.
"I'm really not deviating that much from my traditional training of growing
corn, beans and wheat," Walters said. "I'm just going to longer management
practices. The basic issues of soil fertility and moisture are still there."
Sludge from a few cities has been applied to trees, Walters said, but never
on such a large scale and in such a managed system. His sludge-treated
forest will be the first in Missouri and one of few nationally, state
forestry officials said.
"This redbud is just barely starting to sprout," Walters said last week, his
finger touching the first green leaf on a tree in an open, flat field.
Decades from now, the redbud could be shaded in a deep forest that city
officials think is best for economic and environmental reasons.
In recent years, concerns have been raised nationally about whether disease
or heavy-metal contamination could occur in food when sludge is used as crop
fertilizer.
Kansas City officials don't see any health problems arising from the city's
farm operation, said Bob Williamson, manager for wastewater services. But a
switch is being made, in part because of environmental issues but mainly
because Walters thinks the city can dispose of more sludge at less cost with
trees than crops.
"We wanted to produce a nonfood product that was going to accommodate our
work schedule," Williamson said.
Trees also fit the river bottoms' original ecology.
The species being planted -- which include oaks, walnut, pecan, cottonwood,
spruce and ash -- are tolerant of wet conditions, like those once found in
the swampy forests created by the river's meandering channel. That was
before the river had dikes and levees to hold the channel in place in the
1900s, and almost all the forests were converted to crop fields.
But in January, Kansas City crews began planting 47,000 seedlings in rows 12
feet apart on 145 acres, mulched by ice-storm residue. The city bought the
trees for $11,000 from the Missouri Department of Conservation.
"It's going to be an interesting project," said Mark Nelson, forestry
regional supervisor for the Conservation Department. "We don't know how the
trees are going to respond to the sludge. But every little bit of forest
helps."
Kansas City owns 1,200 acres between the federal flood levee and the river,
and more than 900 acres can be planted. Long-range plans call for all the
cropland to be converted to forest, possibly in the next few years if
corporate sponsors can be found.
Money is at stake, Walters said.
The city made $25,000 from crop leases last year and has averaged $50,000 in
good crop years, he said.
But the farm cannot use all the sludge produced, and the city has to use
contractors to haul the excess to other disposal sites such as landfills,
incinerators or other farm operations. A recent contract was for $500,000 to
haul 7,000 dry pounds, a calculated weight of solids in the sludge.
Walters figures he can double sludge-application rates with trees and save
$166,000 or more because hauling rates are increasing.
"If I can more than double our sludge-application rates, I'd save the city
$500,000," he said.
To handle sludge, the city's crop fields are underlaid with pipes, much like
a buried irrigation system. Crews use tractor-drawn equipment and hoses to
slowly inject sludge into the soil in the fall. Autumn is the only time when
the current equipment can be used without hurting crops.
But wet weather often halts the process. Some years heavy rains prevent any
applications.
With trees, Walters said, liquefied sludge can be sprayed during growth
seasons when nutrients and water can best be absorbed by the trees. Crews
can apply sludge year-round because equipment can move through the wide rows
without harming the trees. And trees can withstand heavier application rates
of nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus, he said.
Soil and leaf tests will be done to watch for any harmful chemical effects
from the sludge, Walters said. He thinks an established forest will absorb
nitrogen, phosphorus and minerals from sludge more efficiently than crops,
with wood as a cash crop with ecological benefits.
Some of the trees will grow quickly, but the valuable hardwoods will take
several decades to mature enough for harvest. Walters said he hopes he has
begun a sustainable forest that will see careful logging and replanting.
Years from now it may also be possible to incorporate trails and public use.
"I'd like to see it go back to natural forest," he said. "But that will be
for somebody else to figure out."
Full article is available at
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/local/
3118209.htm? template=con tentModules/printstory.jsp
------------------------------------------------------------------------
April 23, 2002
Sludge-treated forest is sprouting in KC
By BILL GRAHAM, The Kansas City Star
Toilet flushes and a forest's first sprouts are becoming allied forces for
nature in Kansas City.
City agronomist Timothy Walters is putting sewage sludge to use as tree
fertilizer in a rare conversion of Missouri River bottom farmland back to
forest.
Crews are planting more than 20 species of trees on city-owned land near the
Birmingham Wastewater Treatment Plant in Kansas City, North, land that has
been used to grow crops.
"I'm really not deviating that much from my traditional training of growing
corn, beans and wheat," Walters said. "I'm just going to longer management
practices. The basic issues of soil fertility and moisture are still there."
Sludge from a few cities has been applied to trees, Walters said, but never
on such a large scale and in such a managed system. His sludge-treated
forest will be the first in Missouri and one of few nationally, state
forestry officials said.
"This redbud is just barely starting to sprout," Walters said last week, his
finger touching the first green leaf on a tree in an open, flat field.
Decades from now, the redbud could be shaded in a deep forest that city
officials think is best for economic and environmental reasons.
In recent years, concerns have been raised nationally about whether disease
or heavy-metal contamination could occur in food when sludge is used as crop
fertilizer.
Kansas City officials don't see any health problems arising from the city's
farm operation, said Bob Williamson, manager for wastewater services. But a
switch is being made, in part because of environmental issues but mainly
because Walters thinks the city can dispose of more sludge at less cost with
trees than crops.
"We wanted to produce a nonfood product that was going to accommodate our
work schedule," Williamson said.
Trees also fit the river bottoms' original ecology.
The species being planted -- which include oaks, walnut, pecan, cottonwood,
spruce and ash -- are tolerant of wet conditions, like those once found in
the swampy forests created by the river's meandering channel. That was
before the river had dikes and levees to hold the channel in place in the
1900s, and almost all the forests were converted to crop fields.
But in January, Kansas City crews began planting 47,000 seedlings in rows 12
feet apart on 145 acres, mulched by ice-storm residue. The city bought the
trees for $11,000 from the Missouri Department of Conservation.
"It's going to be an interesting project," said Mark Nelson, forestry
regional supervisor for the Conservation Department. "We don't know how the
trees are going to respond to the sludge. But every little bit of forest
helps."
Kansas City owns 1,200 acres between the federal flood levee and the river,
and more than 900 acres can be planted. Long-range plans call for all the
cropland to be converted to forest, possibly in the next few years if
corporate sponsors can be found.
Money is at stake, Walters said.
The city made $25,000 from crop leases last year and has averaged $50,000 in
good crop years, he said.
But the farm cannot use all the sludge produced, and the city has to use
contractors to haul the excess to other disposal sites such as landfills,
incinerators or other farm operations. A recent contract was for $500,000 to
haul 7,000 dry pounds, a calculated weight of solids in the sludge.
Walters figures he can double sludge-application rates with trees and save
$166,000 or more because hauling rates are increasing.
"If I can more than double our sludge-application rates, I'd save the city
$500,000," he said.
To handle sludge, the city's crop fields are underlaid with pipes, much like
a buried irrigation system. Crews use tractor-drawn equipment and hoses to
slowly inject sludge into the soil in the fall. Autumn is the only time when
the current equipment can be used without hurting crops.
But wet weather often halts the process. Some years heavy rains prevent any
applications.
With trees, Walters said, liquefied sludge can be sprayed during growth
seasons when nutrients and water can best be absorbed by the trees. Crews
can apply sludge year-round because equipment can move through the wide rows
without harming the trees. And trees can withstand heavier application rates
of nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus, he said.
Soil and leaf tests will be done to watch for any harmful chemical effects
from the sludge, Walters said. He thinks an established forest will absorb
nitrogen, phosphorus and minerals from sludge more efficiently than crops,
with wood as a cash crop with ecological benefits.
Some of the trees will grow quickly, but the valuable hardwoods will take
several decades to mature enough for harvest. Walters said he hopes he has
begun a sustainable forest that will see careful logging and replanting.
Years from now it may also be possible to incorporate trails and public use.
"I'd like to see it go back to natural forest," he said. "But that will be
for somebody else to figure out."
posted by Sludge at 8:36 AM
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