Discharge from Lake Apopka is the single largest controllable source of pollution in Lake County. The NuRF utilizes off-line liquid alum injection to remove pollutants flowing out of Lake Apopka into the rest of the Harris Chain of Lakes. Alum was selected because of its reliability and history of successful use in many different water treatment applications.

Once alum combines with pollutants in the water, it forms heavy snowflake-like particles called “floc” which sink to the bottom. To collect the floc, two 9-acre settling ponds were constructed. The alum floc will be pumped from the ponds using a remote control dredge to a centrifuge for dewatering.