The Department of Water and Environmental Regulation trialled an innovative phosphorus-binding clay product in a large agricultural drain in the Peel-Harvey Catchment as part of the Regional Estuaries Initiative.
The trial location was at Punrak Drain, an agricultural drain that delivers large phosphorus loads to the Peel Harvey Estuary via Lake Amarillo and the Serpentine River.
During the field experiment, over 10,000 L of slurry containing more than half a tonne of clay was applied to the drain over a duration of five hours, treating about three million L of water.
The water quality at the dosing site and at locations further downstream was closely monitored before, during and after the trial to evaluate the treatment efficiency.
