ABOVE: One of the Nano-Void Modular Water Purification units that Mark Gaalsywk of Easy Environmental Solutions has been testing for the past few years. He spoke about the technology and how it can be used to clean the lakes during a Fairmont Lakes Foundation, Inc. meeting on Monday. Submitted photo.

FAIRMONT–On Monday Mark Gaalswyk of Easy Environmental Solutions gave a presentation about some of his emerging technology and how it could benefit water bodies during the Fairmont Lakes Foundation, Inc. (FLF) meeting.

FLF meets the third Monday of every month. The non-profit’s mission is to enhance the quality of the lakes within Fairmont, increase awareness of the lakes and preserve the quality of these resources. Gaalswyk was asked to speak specifically about Terreplenish, a liquid microbial fertilizer, and the Easy Nano-Void technology.

He first spoke briefly about Terreplenish, a fertilizer farmers can use that Gaalswyk said produces better yields, runs into the lakes and actually cleans the lakes. However, he acknowledged that most people were present to hear about the nano void technology, or as others call them, nano bubbles.

Gaalswyk shared that he’s actually been working on this project since 2012 and over those years the technology has advanced and improved.

“We’ve now got where we can put 28,000 bubbles on the pin of a needle and we measured it at the University of Minnesota and can put 1.67 trillion bubbles in one gallon of water,” Gaalswyk said.

The bubbles can be any gas but when working toward clean water, oxygen is used. He also said that the smaller the bubble, the longer it will last. When tested, the bubble has lasted in the solution for up to one month.

He showed pictures of a dirty pond on his property that he has used the technology on. In looking at three photos, showing day one, day four and day 30, the water got progressively clearer.

“The bubbles had stayed there a month and kept eating those bacteria that were there,” he said.

Gaalswyk explained that the length the small bubbles can stay in a solution is key because while a larger aerator produces a big bubble that lasts maybe three seconds, having tons of small bubbles that exist longer benefit or in this case clears up the solution.

He also touched on how the technology affects fish and shared that the extra oxygen actually resulted in a dropped death loss of 90 percent.

Then Gaalswyk showed pictures of his own lake shore in Lake Crystal after it was tested and the water was more clear after a few days. He stressed that a small unit would not be able to clean the whole lake.

As part of the presentation he showed pictures of the units and spoke about the different sizes and what they’re capable of.

Currently there are four different units with the smallest treating 8,000 gallons of water an hour and the largest treating 240,000 gallons of water an hour.

“Long term I think these should be in every lake home owner’s basement,” Gaalswyk said.

He further explained that the smallest unit pumps 1.5 gallons of water a minute but because there’s so much oxygen, it treats more than that.

As for the different sizes, he thinks the larger sizes can treat a pond or even a larger area in a lake.

“My vision for Fairmont and every community with a nice lake is to put in a 14 by 14 foot covered swim platform… that has our Nano unit built in and you can float it in at the end of the dock at Gomsrud and have nice clear water right where they’re swimming,” Gaalswyk said.

Toward the end of his presentation a few questions were asked, including how long the unit will last. Gaalswyk said it’s stainless steel and threw out the number of 20 years.

After showing some more photos and providing some more explanation, Gaalswyk shared that he had contacted the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) about three years ago and asked them to identify a lake that he could clean.

After working out some bugs in his technology, he went back to the DNR, which had been in conversation with a company that has a similar technology.

“The DNR doesn’t know what to think,” Gaalswyk said. “The DNR doesn’t necessarily want clean water. They’re talking about the fish and the fish study and they don’t know what to think.”

Jon Omvig, the chair of FLF, agreed and said, “they’re unsure what to do at this point. The best way to put it is… the DNR’s interest in it wasn’t necessarily good.”

He explained that the DNR wants to know for sure what’s happening in the lake and at what point the water will turn and clear at certain oxygen levels and temperatures.

“They want to know how many bubbles cause the water to turn and what happens if it doesn’t turn and no one knows right now,” Omvig said.

While no one from the DNR was present, Omvig said he understands the DNR is looking at doing a pilot study on a larger lake later this year or next year.

Gaalswyk chimed in and said, “they did tell me two days ago to find communities to put in a proposal.”

Omvig said he had heard that, too, and said the DNR said it’s absolutely willing to consider anything within reason but they want a proposal not just to install a machine, but to have a research scientist that comes along with it.

He added that, for Fairmont, coming up with baseline data on the lakes is not a heavy lift because information is available as the city pulls its drinking water from the lakes. He also pointed out that there’s an interested vendor in Gaalswyk.

“We invited everyone here to hear. The lakes foundation is not taking a stance on it. We have nowhere near the money that would be required to do it,” Omvig said.

Gaalswyk said he thinks some units need to be put out so that data can be given to the DNR. He said he would like to test it out in Fairmont.

Omvig mentioned that he felt like the city has been more involved with the lakes this year than he’s ever seen before. However, he said right now they need to find out what the DNR will approve, find a funder and also find a willing researcher.

“We as a lakes foundation support almost anything, but we can’t do it on our own,” Omvig said.