People strolling down Old Main Hill are often drawn to the sight of sunlight glistening off a series of square lakes on the west side of Cache Valley.  These lagoons, followed by engineered wetlands, are part of the valley’s wastewater treatment system, and USU soils researcher Jeanette Norton is studying ways to make them more effective.  The ponds collect, hold, and treat wastewater by utilizing the natural nitrogen cycling that occurs in all ecosystems: bacteria convert ammonia into nitrates, while algae and plants use both ammonia and nitrates for growth.  As water is transferred from lagoon to lagoon and then into the wetlands over a period of weeks, bacteria and plants consume the nutrients, and the water becomes incrementally cleaner.  The nutrient-rich treated effluent water can then be used in agricultural applications.  Norton has found that nature, however, could use a little help: more oxygen, a larger surface area for bacteria to grow on  and a more stabilized pH in the water would help improve the nitrogen cycling in the lagoons. Dealing with excess phosphorus in the system will be an important future challenge.