Press Releases

NEWARK, New Jersey – Kleinfelder has been providing essential water resources services to the City of Newark, New Jersey from the source to the tap for several years. Kleinfelder has worked to ensure safe drinking water by providing a range of services related to watershed and reservoir management, treatment plant process and operational improvements, design upgrades, asset management, and regulatory compliance.

New Jersey faces many multifaceted challenges when it comes to maintaining safe drinking water. One issue of growing concern is a detrimental concentration of algae-like bacteria in our open waters, also known as Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs). Warm summer temperatures coupled with stagnant nutrient-rich water and sunlight exposure act as a catalyst for HABs. The occurrence of an HAB can impact the water quality of lakes and drinking water reservoirs and can result in closures of certain areas, causing economic loss to the tourism industry. The City of Newark has also been affected as two of the five reservoirs serving the Pequannock Water Treatment Plant (WTP) have been impacted with HABs over the last three years.

In response to the widespread presence of HABs in New Jersey waterways in 2019, Governor Phil Murphy and officials from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) initiated $2.5 million in grant funding to improve water quality through implementation of nonpoint source (NPS) pollution control projects. Recognizing the opportunity that this grant offered, the City of Newark’s Executive Director of the Water and Sewer Department, Kareem Adeem, retained Kleinfelder to prepare and submit a grant application on behalf of the City of Newark Department of Water and Sewer Utilities. NJDEP awarded the City of Newark a grant in the amount of $475,000 with a local match of $190,000, a total project amount of $665,000. Kleinfelder was then retained to administer the grant.

Under the project scope, ultrasonic algal control units have been deployed in key locations of the Pequannock WTP reservoirs to mitigate and prevent HABs. Grab samples are being collected by Kleinfelder to verify the effectiveness of the ultrasonic units.  Kleinfelder has provided expertise for proper procurement, installation, and ensuring proper operation and monitoring.  Kleinfelder is also working closely with LG Sonic, the manufacturer of the MPC-Buoy systems to verify and validate the equipment performance.

The ultrasonic algal control units are MPC (Monitor, Predict, Control) Buoys and emit an ultrasonic wave which creates a “sound barrier” near the surface of the water, serving to block algae from photosynthesizing without adverse impacts to humans, animals, fish, or other aquatic life. The MPC Buoys are also equipped to monitor water quality in real time and allow the user to adjust the ultrasonic frequency accordingly.

“Many units in the HAB control market can send ultrasonic frequencies; however, the state-of-the-art monitoring, transmission of data, and online access to the information is a game changer,” said Kleinfelder Project Manager and Principal Engineer Felipe S. Contreras. “The units are essentially solar-powered labs that log and analyze samples and allow for fine tuning to control the algal formations. With the results displayed via the web, it’s a dream come true.”

This technology has been implemented in Echo Lake in Passaic County that serves Newark’s Pequannock WTP, with the ability to proactively install additional units in other reservoirs.

“We have a strong track record of reducing 70–90 percent of algae in large water reservoirs, and we are confident we will solve problems in Echo Lake and hopefully soon in other reservoirs across New Jersey,” said Director of LG Sonic US Greg Eiffert. “With interactive frequencies and a database containing over 20 million water quality and algae related data sets, we can select frequencies to optimize treatment to the specific algae and water conditions that are present.”

This three-year-long project is expected to be completed in 2022, concluding with a comprehensive project report including an independent validation and verification of the unit effectiveness.

Kleinfelder. Bright People. Right Solutions. Founded in 1961, Kleinfelder is a leading engineering, design, construction management, construction materials inspection and testing, and environmental professional services firm.  Kleinfelder now employs more than 2,200 professionals and operates from over 75 office locations in the United States, Canada, and Australia.  The company is headquartered in San Diego, California.  Poised for growth, Kleinfelder continues to provide high-quality solutions for our diverse client base.  Visit Kleinfelder.com or follow us on LinkedIn/Kleinfelder.