A student at Columbia asked us after a TEd X Dumbo presentation in 2012,
“How many mud balls would it take to clean the Gowanus and how much would that cost?”.
The best answer would take careful study with pros who have remediated other large systems. However, Shig took the time to create an answer. He likes to make phone calls to his EM colleagues, test, research, crunch numbers and calculate. He came up with some numbers and a cost with which to start conversations.
FROM Shig 2012. After MoS Ted X Dumbo City 2.0 presentation:
“Here are the numbers that I could figure out on number of mud balls and cost for the Gowanus Canal.
I included some details so you can see some of the individual quantities involved, and how doing larger areas, say, 10 times the size of the Gowanus, that is, 1 million mud balls, is doable — just multiple the mud balls estimates below by 10 for million mud balls.”
Gowanus size.
length: 1.8 mile (9,504 ft)
width: 100 feet
depth: 20 feet
[source: charactersofgowanus.com?p=37]
surface area (length x width): 950,400 sq ft (105,600 sq yd, or 88,295 sq.meter)
water volume (length x width x depth): 19,008,000 cu.ft. (122,193,156 gallons)
Mud balls estimates [$3,000].
at 1 mud ball per square meter => 88,295 mud balls minimum
[emrojapan.com/about-em/em-products/activated-materials/howtomakeballs.html]
Perhaps set goal of 100,000 mud balls for first year.
Costs: $0.0095/mud ball (ingredients only)
(assumed average mud ball size is about the size of a baseball)
To make 100,000 mud balls
Total liquids: 285 gallons (EM-1, molasses, water)
EM-1: 14 gallons, $864.
molasses: 14 gallons, $210.
bokashi: 853 lbs (assuming using free materials; if purchasing wheat bran, $674, adds $0.0067 per mud ball => $0.0163/mudball)
dirt: 3,412 lbs (assuming using free materials)
total ingredients cost: $1,074.
total ingredients cost with wheat bran: $1,748
Other costs: approx. $1,000 (including fermentation tank 300-gal capacity, hoses, etc.)
water: ? (need about 260 gallons of water, and additional few gallons for rinsing/cleaning => 280 gallons of water may be used)
labor: ? (volunteers?, staff from community groups/organizations?)
location(s) for storage: ? –for fermentation tank and mud balls (provided by city or offered by local organizations, etc.?)
Total Min. mudballs cost: $2,074
Total Min. mudballs cost with wheat bran: $2,748
=> $3,000 (for 100,000 mudballs)
Optional – If also applying just the liquid (Activated EM, AEM) microbes.
1st year.
1st application: 1,222 gal. of AEM (at 15 gallons/1.5 million gallons of water (MGW))
EM-1: 56 gallons, $2,800.
molasses: 56 gallons, $350.
total ingredients cost 1st appl.: $3,150.
Monthly maintenance application (from 2nd month): 244 gal. of AEM (at 3 gallons/1.5 MGW)
EM-1: 12 gallons, $692.
molasses: 12 gallons, $168.
total ingredients cost maintenance: $860./month; $9,460. 1st yr.
total 1st year cost (AEM liquid only): $12,610.
Additional costs: $2,000 (3 more 300-gal fermentation tanks)
1st year costs: $14,610 AEM + $3,000 mud balls = $17,610
=> $18,000 grand total (mudballs + AEM 1st year).
From 2nd year:
monthly maintenance application: 244 gal. of AEM (at 3 gallons/1.5 MGW)
total 2nd year on maintenance cost: $860/month; $10,320/year
Note. maintenance amount would stay the same as long as input source of wastewater is not addressed or improved.
Total Mudballs + AEM (from 2nd year).
Mud balls: $3,000/year (100,000 mud balls per year)
AEM liquid: $10,320
Grand total: $13,320 => $14,000/year from 2nd year. (if same wastewater input source)
Over 10 years: $144,000
Other costs not considered here: periodic water quality testing costs.
HTH,
Shig
E. Shig Matsukawa
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ttps://ioby.org/project/beneficial-mud-balls-gowanus
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