I read your informative cover article on efforts to clean up Lake Agawam [“New Device Deployed To Combat Algal Blooms In Lake Agawam In Southampton Village,” 27east.com, April 21], and it left me with a couple of questions. After the organisms die, do they just sink back into the depth of Lake Agawam? If so, do they just become more nutrients for the water? A never-ending cycle?
Around a year or so ago, while searching for companies to invest in, in their pre-IPO stage, I found an interesting one. Though I did not invest in it, it stayed in my thoughts. The reason is that I thought that it was the perfect solution to the water problems that plague the freshwater ponds and lakes on Long Island.
The idea is simple, and is based on basic botany. The premise is that plants thrive on nitrogen, potassium and other basic nutrients. The problem with the lakes is that they have too much of these nutrients. How do we put them together to solve this problem? Sound waves? No. Hydrogen peroxide? I don’t think so. So, how?
The answer is floating islands. Think of it: You plant plants on this island so that the roots dangle in the water, consuming the nutrients that they need that are destroying the water quality of the lakes. This is just a way of vertical farming, except that they spray the roots with the nutrients. Here, they sit in the water and don’t need to be sprayed. The roots will also give small aquatic life a place to hide from their predators.
Once you prove this then an income stream appears. The proving crop of plants could be harvested and sold or used for beautification projects. Then you could rent the islands to farmers or let civic organizations use them for fundraising.
If a farmer can grow privet faster and be able to bring it to market faster then … maybe the Audubon Society uses one (or more) to grow plants to sell to raise funds. Only your imagination can limit you to what you can do.
Let nature fix nature harmed by man. Chemicals and ultrasound and hypothesis maybes? Or plants doing what plants do?
Kur Hauquitz
Southampton
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