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SUSTAINABILITY 24 airportbusiness February/March 2016 quality in the Thornapple River, and help sus- tain the river system's water quality, aquatic life and natural beauty." BIOFILM ISSUES AT TROUT CREEK Gerald R. Ford International Airport, which served 2.3 million passengers in 2014, only uses propylene glycol-based aircraft deicing products. Although the EPA finds polypropylene glycol is highly biodegradable and environmen- tally preferred, it still presents two challenges — its fast biodegradation competes with some organisms for dissolved oxygen in the water and it provides a rich food source for naturally occurring algae, fungi and other aquatic organ- isms, allowing them to proliferate to nuisance levels under ideal conditions. "Glycol is a food source for biofilms," says Tom Ecklund, facilities director for the Kent County Department of Aeronautics which over- sees the operation of the airport. Though the presence of biofilms can cre- ate nuisance-type conditions that negatively impact aquatic insect habitat, fish habitat and dissolved oxygen levels, Ryks states that "previ- ously, there was really nothing being done from a treatment standpoint as far as collecting the glycol or treating it." He explains excess glycol flowed into a detention pond that would rise to a certain level then spill over into the tribu- tary that flowed into the river on the airport's north side. But in early 2000, the DEQ received a com- plaint from neighbors living near the Trout Creek tributary after they noticed a smelly film in the water. The DEQ dispatched environmen- tal experts to investigate and those experts www.aviationpros.com/11174155 BIOFILM BASICS BIOFILMS are natural complex communities of microorgan- isms that grow on hard surfaces such as rocks, submerged tree branches, etc. in streams. f Biofilms include algae, fungi, bacteria and protozoa. f Sometimes defined as "nuisance" conditions characterized by dominance of Sphaerotilus natans. f Biodegradable deicers are a good food source for biofilms.