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In-stream air stripper removes degreaser from local water supply

  • Published
  • By John Wright
  • Environmental Restoration Management chief
Several people have noticed water being jetted into the air within the streambed near the corner of Missile Dr. and South Creek Dr. It is not a water-line break. Although water-line breaks do occur this time of year, this particular fountain has been formed intentionally by the environmental restoration team as a method of removing trichloroethane , a degreaser that was used in the past, which has been detected in the shallow groundwater and surface water on the base.

The in-stream air stripper removes the TCE from the water by jetting air through the water, evaporating the TCE. Air pushes the water into the stripping tube and out on to a large metal plate where the water cascades off the plate and back into the stream. The system pumps air through the surface water from Diamond Creek and shallow groundwater found in the gravels directly below the streambed. No additional water is used, and all the water returns back to the stream so it continues downstream to Crow Creek. Volatile contaminants are further removed as water flows off the plate and back into the stream.

By installing this in-stream air stripper, the restoration team has minimized disturbance to the endangered Colorado Butterfly Plant and the wetlands found at Diamond Creek while cleaning up the environment.