Observing inefficiencies in current wastewater lagoon treatment processes has shown that a different approach is needed today. Sunflo2 has developed a design that distributes oxygen and circulates pond contents – at very low operational costs. Most of the data on the performance of the Sunflo2 Technology has been compiled from applications in wastewater stabilization ponds. It is in the wastewater stabilization pond environment that the Sunflo2 Technology’s enhancement of natural biological degradation can best be described. The innovative approach is implicit in the phrase: “progressive reaeration and circulation.” 
 

The State of North Dakota, through its inventors, engineers, and regulators, has been a leader in the use of natural treatment processes in the United States. There is a story that tells of the community of Fessenden, North Dakota in 1928. Having no stream in which to discharge its sewage waste, the town decided to discharge its sewage into a “pothole” 1.5 miles from the nearest residence, hoping the distance would limit any odor or nuisance concerns. To the community’s surprise, it worked. Moreover, the pothole did not change much, even though its preservation was not a primary concern. Although there is information in literature on various types and designs of ponds used for sewage disposal here and abroad, indications are that the first modern-day lagoon, built on good sound engineering principles, was built in Maddock, North Dakota in 1948.
 

The success of this installation was enthusiastically promoted by W. Van Heuvelan, Chief of the Water Pollution Control Program in the State of North Dakota. Several others were put into service in North Dakota over the next three years. After a comprehensive review of their performance in 1951 by the US Public Health Service, the “designed natural treatment pond” approach was emulated throughout the Missouri Basin states during the early 50’s. The lagoon concept was incorporated into a design identified as the Ten State Standards. This led to listing lagoons as “eligible” for the Construction Grants Program under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1956, spurring further applications across the United States.
 

A review of pond scientists’ findings has been published by Fitzgerald and Rohlich. It is now generally recognized, that when properly designed, stabilization ponds will become populated with suitable organisms, which will convert waste water to effluent of a quality equal to those of treatment processes costing several times as much. 
According to the Water Pollution Control Federation, there were 7,606 wastewater stabilization pond systems in service in the United States in 1989. Ponds represent the second most popular form of natural treatment, with Septic Systems number one. 
 

Sunflo2 has focused on providing sound scientific evidence of performance (vs. anecdotal or manufacturer’s claims) utilizing empirical formulas to make performance recommendations.