OUR ENVIRONMENT : Water
Belmont Bio-Ag has made a concerted effort to incorporate environmentally responsible water usage practices throughout SymbiosysTM. Through a variety of water recovery, filtration, and reuse strategies, SymbiosysTM reduces the amount of well water that would typically be required to operate the components individually.
SYMBIOSYSTM WATER USAGE
Every attempt is being made to capture, filter, and align water sources with the best uses within SymbiosysTM. For example, while cattle in the barns will have continuous access to fresh well water, the process water used to clean the barns comes from a multiple stage proprietary water filtration system that takes the water coming from the digester and strips it of solids, odor causing bacteria, and any other contaminants that might be present. Reusing process water means no excess well water usage for cleaning and no smell. The same filtered (potable) water will be used in the ethanol and other production process on the campus. The water used in the greenhouses will come, to the greatest extent possible, from rainwater captured from the roofs on campus and stored on the property.
WELL CAPACITY
There will be two high capacity wells on the property, with an expected combined capacity draw of 552 gallons per minute (gpm). Normal usage is projected to be 385 gpm for the ethanol plant, CO2 plant, and greenhouses and drinking water usage in the barns is expected to be 167 gpm. Total daily water draw from the high capacity wells is estimated for the BBA campus at 794,880 gallons. Annual draw of the campus is estimated at 282 million gallons.
Belmont Bio-Ag will be applying for permits for water usage that reflect a "worst case" maximum draw, that is, the amount the facility would have to use if the system breaks down completely and cannot actively recycle water.
Existing private wells near the Belmont campus are in either the 1st Galena Platteville aquifer (aquifer depth of 200 ft) or the 2nd St Peter formation (aquifer depth of 510 ft). Belmont Bio-Ag plans to extend its wells to an approximate 1000 ft depth into the Prairie du Chien aquifer (depth to 1000 ft). The new wells will be cased and grouted to a depth of 525 feet to hydraulically separate new wells from the upper aquifers. The 3rd and 4th aquifers are separated hydraulically from upper aquifers by the Readstown Member shale layer at a depth of 510 ft. We expect the lower aquifers to be recharged by lateral movement from NE in the aquifer (i.e., recharge from quite some distance from the site).
OTHER SURFACE WATER
The Belmont Bio-Ag site has a small stream on it and a small area of designated wetland. Both of these areas of that property have been delineated and would be protected from disturbance by the campus. BBA's high capacity wells are not anticipated to impact the level of surface water on the property or nearby wells because the target aquifer is deep and has an abundant supply of water.
There will be no run-off from the campus. All of the waste streams on the site are being captured and recycled.