Central Oregonian

Clearing the air at Meadow Lakes

A new windmill at Meadow Lakes Golf Course will help oxygenate one of the water hazards and eventually freshen the air

KEVIN GABOURY/CENTRAL OREGONIAN

Kevin Gaboury

April 16, 2010

The 24-foot, bright green and yellow windmill at the edge of the first pond at Meadow Lakes Golf Course has been the subject of curiosity among golfers since it was installed last Thursday.

But once they find out what it does, they agree it's a pretty good idea.

Over time, the windmill will eliminate the rotten-egg odor that occasionally invades golfer's nostrils while teeing off at the course. As it spins, the windmill runs an air compressor that releases oxygen into the pond to aerate it.

"Our effort is control the fragrance from the pond," said Meadow Lakes golf professional Lee Roberts. "If we can keep those lakes more vibrant and smelling better, we said, `Yeah let's try it.'"

Contrary to rumor, the smell is not caused by sewage due to the course's wastewater treatment capabilities, but rotting organic material that collects at the bottom of the ponds.

At certain times of the year - especially during the winter or the hottest months of summer - the level of dissolved oxygen in the ponds reaches zero, explained City Engineer Eric Klann. Bacteria in the ponds need oxygen to break down organic material in the water - such as leaves, twigs, and golfers' divots. Without oxygen in the water, however, they begin to release hydrogen sulfides - the cause of the smell.

"These ponds have been here for about 18 years now and that organic material just keeps building up and it gets worse and worse," Klann said.

As the windmill rotates, the air compressor atop the windmill pumps oxygen through tubes to three diffusers in different areas the pond. The diffusers break the oxygen into tiny bubbles that disperse into the water.

"The smaller the air bubbles, the better the oxygen diffuses into the water," Klann said. "They're at the bottom, so the more diffused oxygen you have at the bottom, the better that bacteria can work. They'll clean up the water."

However, the process won't happen overnight.

"It'll take a while," Klann said. "The ponds are in such bad shape, it's going to take a year before the bacteria are able to go through that."

But once they do, the smell should be eliminated completely, he added.

At the pond near the tenth hole - which also tends to stink at certain times - city officials plan to hook up a small electric air compressor in the near future for the same purpose. A windmill was only installed near the first pond and not others because there's no way to get electricity to the area without tearing up the course, Klann says. The windmill is completely self-powered.

According to golf pro Roberts, the odor doesn't generally deter golfers from playing the course, but the intent is to make the experience more pleasant for golfers and attract some new business as well.

"It shows the effort being made to not even let it get that way," he said. "It really hasn't deterred play. They play in spite of it because it doesn't happen very often. The most I've ever noticed it is maybe twice in a whole year.

He added the windmill's location was also chosen with golfers in mind.

"We put it in an area where it should not affect the regular play going down 1 or 2," he said.