00:00 Spraying a slurry of modified clay to clear up the phosphorus green water.
00:07 We spray the clay across the water as evenly as it's like a rain as we can and as the clay
00:16 settles through the water it then takes the phosphate with it and then the algae can't
00:22 survive.
00:22 A nutrient is added to the clay so that it binds with the phosphorus from agricultural
00:26 or residential fertiliser runoff into waterways.
00:30 It locks up the phosphorus as it mixes with the water so algae can't access this phosphorus
00:35 it's locked up within the clay.
00:37 The algae can't feed off the phosphorus and create harmful algal blooms.
00:41 They lead to low oxygen concentrations in the water and could potentially have consequences
00:47 such as fish kills.
00:49 Results from a trial in a nutrient rich water channel that runs into a tributary of the
00:53 Peel Harvey estuary were extremely promising.
00:56 We achieved 95% phosphorus reduction which is astonishing.
01:00 And we've done it in different rivers in through the south west and some of them we've seen
01:05 the bottom two days later where the water goes clear.
01:08 Now they're testing the clay in a more closed water environment.
01:11 Stability is pretty high so it's pH.
01:14 A small badly impacted lake next to residential properties.
01:18 The amount that we're applying now should be sufficient to lock up a lot of the phosphorus.
01:24 Refining the dosages and application methods.
01:26 I think they're all set up for chlorophyll.
01:30 Yeah because you can't get any nutrients through them anyway.
01:34 The researchers will keep testing the clay in different water bodies and if it continues
01:39 to be successful they hope to be able to roll it out broadly to improve water quality across
01:44 Australia.
01:45 [BLANK_AUDIO]
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