The water treatment in Jacksonville, FL involves the purifying and collecting of water and the treatment of the St. John’s River. The Saint John’s River begins in Lake George and flows through major cities in northeast Florida such as Jacksonville and empties into the Atlantic Ocean. Due to the St. John’s River close proximity to the Atlantic Ocean, parts of the water are a mix of fresh and saltwater. The current infrastructure of the treatment of the St. John’s River includes the problem of high salinity (“Salinity”). The high salinity has caused the amount of wildlife in and along the river to decrease tremendously. I chose this area of infrastructure because of my location with me living on the river and my interest in fishing. If all the fish die in the river then then I will no longer have a nearby area to fish. Right now it is unsure if the salinity in the river is being controlled or even if it is being controlled, due to the fact that the city is more worried about problems such as hurricanes. Currently, the city wants to deepen the river which will allow cargo boats easier access to the port which in turn will spike the salinity level to a point where almost all wildlife dependent on the river will die. Some organizations oppose the idea of deepening the river but do not give any solutions. My solution is to add various types of halophytes (plants that absorb salt) along the river and on floating farms to lower the salinity level. Once the salinity level is lowered, the halophytes can be harvested and eaten to avoid an overpopulation of the plants. With the implementation of halophytes, the salinity of the river will be lowered which in turn will protect local wildlife.
My idea for improvement includes making a floating farm such as ones made in Bangladesh which can contain the halophytes (“Floating Gardens in Bangladesh”). The halophytes would remove salt from the local soil which in turn would lower the salinity level of the river. The soil in the St. John’s River gains its salt from the saltwater in the river, so if salt is removed from the soil, then salt from the local river will flow into the soil creating a cycle where salt flows into the soil but is used by the plants. The farm will not require the use of electricity unless the machines are used to plant and harvest the halophytes. There has not be a use of halophytes to remove salt from local waters, but studies have shown that halophytes can help restore soils that have ruined by an overly high level of salt in the soil (Hasanuzzaman). The idea of the floating farm has been used various times in countries such as Bangladesh. These farms are built in case of a flood so that after the flood the farm will still survive. The idea of adding a floating farm to reduce the salinity, which has not yet been tried, would be a new, innovative implementation.
The floating farm will be built of multiple layers. The bottom layer will be a raft made up of bamboo. The raft will be semi permeable to allow the roots of the halophyte to grow out and anchor the plant into the local ground. In the event of a flood or a storm surge, the raft will float bringing the plants from the local soil up with it. This way, in a natural disaster where almost everything is destroyed there would still be one source of food. The second layer would be made of local soil. The layer of soil would be somewhat thin, so that at a certain size the plant’s roots can go past the raft and into the ground. The top layer would be a layer of halophytes. The halophyte that will be planted is the salicornia plant (“Listings of Halophytes and Salt-Tolerant Plants”). Salicornia is a sea vegetable that carries a multitude of health benefits. The benefits of the plant can include high amounts of vitamins. “It is a plant known to strengthen the immune system, very popular among sailors who carried it with them to fight diseases during long voyages” (Abate). The plant can also be put in sandwiches or used in fine dining, which makes it a great food for all types of people.
The process of implementing these farms would first start off with finding patches of land to place the farms. After land is found only two steps are left the building and the maintaining of the farm. The process of building the floating farms would be overseen by multiple engineers. The maintenance of the farm would include the harvesting and replacement of the soil. About once every year the salicornia would be need to be picked. It would take environmental engineers to make sure that plants such as the salicornia could survive and thrive in a tropic like climate. Environmental engineering could also find effective ways to measure the salinity of the water and find out which time is most ideal for harvesting the plants. Most importantly, environmental engineering would make sure that the floating farms would be placed in areas that benefit the local land the most. An earth resource engineer could also be used. The earth resource engineer could also assist with the placement and design of the floating farms. The earth resource engineers would be in charge of the building of the floating farms making sure that none of the farms would be made of materials harmful to the environment. Both types of engineers would be used to test and anticipate failure. If the farms look like they are in risk of breaking, then the plants can be quickly harvested and the raft be pulled up shore to avoid the possibility of having the farm damage property or wildlife. The salicornia plants if not controlled, may overgrow and become an evasive species, but that is unlikely to happen if the plants are harvested at the right time. The implementation of the floating farm is a low risk high reward solution.
The finalized product will hopefully be spread throughout the river in places where the farms can be most easily implemented and most needed. The floating farms would also be a compromise between the companies in Jacksonville whose business relies on the river and the wildlife organizations who care for the river. The cost of maintaining and building the floating farms can be relatively cheap depending on the plants used. The profit margin on the floating farm with about five workers is relatively high also. “Depending on the size of the farm, together they can earn about $1,700 a year” (James). The floating farms could also create new jobs in Jacksonville depending on the size and number of the farms. Salicornia plants can be somewhat easy to sell, since they can be marketed as a superfood. All in all, the floating farms will not only solve the problem of high salinity, but they will also bring in new jobs and profit to a growing city.
References:
Abate, Roberta. “Salicornia: What You Need to Know About This Tasty Sea Bean.” Fine Dining Lovers, 1 Feb. 2017, www.finedininglovers.com/blog/food-drinks/salicornia/. Accessed 21 January 2018.
“Floating Gardens in Bangladesh .” Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, www.fao.org/. Accessed 18 January 2018.
“Floating Gardens.” Practical action, practicalaction.org/floating-gardens. 19 January 2018.
James, Marsha. “Bangladesh Overcomes Flooding with ‘Floating Farms’.” VOA, VOA, 29 Nov.v2014, learningenglish.voanews.com/a/bangladesh-floating-farms/2535772.html. Accessed 22 January 2018.
“Listings of Halophytes and Salt-Tolerant Plants.” Biosalinity, 2018, www.biosalinity.org/salt- tolerant_plants.htm. Accessed 18 January 2018.
Hasanuzzaman, Mirza. “Potential Use of Halophytes to Remediate Saline Soils.” Research Gate, July 2014, www.researchgate.net/publication/263845331_Potential_Use_of_Halophytes_to_Remediate_Saline_Soils. Accessed 25 January 18.
“Salinity.” State of the River Report for the Lower St. Johns River Basin, sjrr.domains.unf.edu/2-8-salinity/. Accessed 18 January 2018.
Zhang, Hongxiang, et al. “The Effects of Salinity and Osmotic Stress on Barley Germination Rate: Sodium as an Osmotic Regulator.” Annals of Botany, Oxford University Press, Dec. 2010, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2990672/. Accessed 18 January 2018.