90 Days to Undo 30 Years of Sludge
Overview
For over 30 years, sludge accumulation reduced the performance of Stockdale, Texas’ primary wastewater lagoon. By 2025, sludge levels had reached nearly six feet, threatening compliance, reducing capacity, and pushing the city toward a $1.5 million dredging project.
Instead, Stockdale implemented Nano Gas™ Environmental’s nanobubble technology.
Within 90 days, the lagoon was restored without dredging, without downtime, and with approximately $1 million in cost savings.
The Challenge
Stockdale faced a critical wastewater issue:
- Sludge accumulation reaching 5.6 to 5.8 feet
- Declining treatment capacity
- Risk of EPA compliance violations
- Odors affecting the surrounding community
- A projected $1.5M dredging cost
- Around 350 truckloads of sludge removal
Traditional dredging would have required months of disruption, high costs, and only temporary results.
The Solution
In partnership with E3 Entegral Solutions, the city deployed Nano Gas™ Environmental’s mobile nanobubble oxygenation system in September 2025.
The system injects trillions of microscopic oxygen nanobubbles into the lagoon. This increases oxygen transfer and accelerates biological digestion of sludge.
Key elements of the solution:
- Nanobubble oxygenation with 4 to 8 times faster microbial activity
- Lagoon crawler to break up compacted sludge
- Continuous treatment with no shutdown
- Full system operation during remediation
This approach allowed the lagoon to break down decades of sludge naturally from within.
The Results
Performance Improvements
- 83 percent reduction in sludge in the primary lagoon
- Sludge reduced from about 5.8 feet to less than 1 foot
- 50 percent reduction in secondary lagoons
- 95 percent reduction in total suspended solids
- 87 percent reduction in ammonia levels
- No dredging required
- No operational downtime
Financial and Operational Impact
- About $1 million saved compared to dredging
- Avoided 350 truckloads of sludge removal
- No excavation or disruption
- Restored lagoon capacity
- Increased future development capacity
Watch the Project in Action
What This Means for Municipalities
Thousands of wastewater lagoons across the United States face similar challenges:
- Long-term sludge buildup
- Increasing regulatory pressure
- Limited budgets
This project shows that nanobubble technology can replace dredging.
Instead of removing sludge mechanically, Nano Gas™ helps systems:
- Clean themselves biologically
- Restore capacity faster
- Continue operating during treatment
- Reduce long-term costs
Industry Impact
The U.S. wastewater infrastructure market is expected to exceed $600 billion, with lagoon remediation as a key opportunity for scalable solutions.
Nano Gas™ Environmental is expanding across:
- Municipal wastewater systems
- Industrial wastewater treatment
- Agricultural lagoons
- Environmental remediation
Client Perspective
“Dredging is very expensive. Would I recommend this to other municipalities? Absolutely yes. We now have future development capacity.”
— Stephen Mayfield, City Manager, Stockdale, TX
Why Nano Gas™ Environmental
- No dredging
- No chemicals
- No downtime
- Lower capital and operating costs
- Proven results
Restore Your Lagoon Without Dredging
Discover how Nano Gas™ Environmental can help you reduce sludge, lower costs, and improve wastewater performance.
