impacted by toxic substances introduced from illicit
drug manufacturing. Surface waters contaminated with
amphetamines, and the chemicals used to manufacture
them, are known to suppress aquatic life, including
microorganisms.1 These chemical compounds inhibit
biofilm formation and promote higher abundance of
species equipped to survive in toxic environments.
Microorganisms that can maintain cellular function in
the presence of toxic waste exclude many of the essential
biota needed for efficient wastewater processing. These
impacts can be applied to wastewater systems that are
suffering from drug related toxic hits. The following case
study describes the process of restarting the biology in a
lagoon system that was killed off by methamphetamine
manufacturing chemicals.
Figure 1. Wastewater in cell one of the facultative lagoon system
after the toxic hit exhibiting milky white color.
The wastewater operators in a rural Wyoming
municipality noticed that the wastewater in the first
cell of their 0.02 MGD facultative lagoon system turned
milky white and was producing a strong odor (Figure 1).
After several community members complained about
the terrible smell coming from the treatment facility,
the management began to investigate the health of
1 Lee S., Paspalof A., Snow D., Richmond K., Rosi-Marshall J., & Kelly J. (2016). Occurrence and Potential Biological Effects ofAmphetamine on Stream Communities. Environmental Science
Technology. 50 (17): 9727-9735.
the lagoon system. They realized that the odor was a
result of the plant biology dying from toxic chemicals
introduced to the system. These toxins were allegedly
dumped into the collection lines from a meth lab that
was busted shortly before the wastewater system
started to smell. An occupant of the meth lab confessed
to flushing the meth making chemicals down the toilet
when law enforcements were sighted outside the
residence. To quickly restore biological treatment in the
lagoons, the city contacted BioLynceus®.
Figure 2. Two cell facultative lagoon system servicing a rural Wyoming municipality.
A combined regimen of ProBiotic Scrubber® II (PBII) and
Potassium Permanganate (PP) was applied to the first
treatment cell. Daily doses of PBII were applied for 14
days. The PP was supplemented to provide oxygen to
the lagoon system and speed the reaction time of the
PBII. After five days of bioaugmentation, the smell from
the lagoons dissipated. By the end of the two-week
treatment, the basins were properly processing influent
wastewater. The lagoon system was also brought back
to a healthy color. BioLynceus®’ bioaugmentation plan
quickly restored biological wastewater treatment in the
facultative lagoon system.
BioLynceus® ProBiotic Scrubber® II provides a biological solution for lagoon toxicity.