This bioreactor calculator is an interactive tool that can be used to help farmers implement water quality treatment systems to specifically fit their land measurements and crop yield standards, while being able to sufficiently reduce environmental contamination from agricultural runoff and improve wildlife habitat.
To Estimate Retention Time Enter the Following:
Enter Temperature in Fahrenheit (°F):
Enter Input Nitrate Concentration (mg/L):
Enter Desired Output Nitrate Concentration (mg/L):
1. Temperature: anywhere between 55 and 65 Fahrenheit is a safe bet for the Monterey Bay area. Other regions, determine your average annual atmospheric temperature.
2. Input Nitrate: this fluctuates quite a bit, even for one spot over days and weeks. Also varies across the region. CCWG would be happy to run water samples for you to determine Nitrate concentration. Otherwise, 30 mg/L was a concentration most observed in long-term monitoring in an agriculturel run-off ditch.
3. This can be whatever you desire. RWQCB regulations are around 10 mg/L
