Eco-friendly fertilizer helps keep phosphorus out of Wisconsin waterway

A new fertilizer blend will soon make it easier for Wisconsin gardeners and homeowners to do their part to reduce phosphorus runoff without sacrificing the nutrition they need to grow healthy gardens.

Spring Valley’s new all-purpose garden blend features cutting edge fertilizer technologies and replaces conventional water-soluble phosphorus with Crystal Green, a high efficiency, low-eco-impact fertilizer.

“It’s important that our products support the sustainability objectives of the communities we serve, especially here in Wisconsin,” Spring Valley General Manager Dave Wacker said. “Crystal Green’s environmental profile provides adequate plant nutrition and allows us to be good stewards at the same time, so it’s an ideal fit for our company philosophy.”

Spring Valley’s new product offering coincides with the official opening of Wisconsin’s first nutrient recovery facility by Crystal Green maker, Ostara Nutrient Recovery Technologies, in partnership with the Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District.

Located at the district’s Nine Springs Wastewater Treatment Plant, the facility will help protect the area network of freshwater lakes and rivers by recovering phosphorus from wastewater streams at the plant and transforming it into an environmentally responsible fertilizer to be used in Spring Valley’s new blend.

Wisconsin’s freshwater systems are the primary driver of the $12 billion tourism industry, $2.3 billion of which is directly attributed to sports fishing.  According to the Association of Wisconsin Lakes, phosphorus runoff is the number one threat to the state’s freshwater resources, negatively affecting an estimated 90 percent of inland lakes.

Excess phosphorus contributes to the growth of algae, which chokes off sunlight and oxygen, destroying aquatic life and impairing fish populations. Using fertilizer responsibly helps reduce the impact of nutrients, as does removing them through nutrient recovery from point-sources, like wastewater treatment plants.