AMESBURY — Jon Higgins' life in science got a jump-start when he was just a kid as he tried to answer a question that kept bugging him: Why did the fish he stocked in the pond on his parents' farm keep dying?
Higgins would drop a few trout and large mouth bass he caught at other ponds into his pond with the hopes that more would be created, but it never worked. Those fish kept dying and the only fish that had a chance were the minnows.
Determined to find an answer, Higgins started an experiment when he was 12.
Higgins, now 48, of Amesbury, took samples from the pond and other ponds and lakes in Concord near Estabrook Woods where he grew up and looked at them with a microscope.
"I never figured it out," said Higgins. "I never figured out how to solve the problem."
The same problem that perplexed Higgins as a kid drove him to figuring out a way to help ponds faced with similar situations.
Higgins invented a device called the P-Pod that can make ponds and lakes healthier and more viable for trout and bass. That's accomplished by getting rid of high levels of phosphorus, an essential nutrient that causes algae to flourish in lakes and ponds, as well as other invasive species. High phosphorus levels, usually caused by runoff from lawn fertilizers, are the likely culprit of the problem in the pond at his childhood home.
For the past year, he has tested out the P-Pod on Lake Attitash, which has been dealing with problems of its own with algae and invasive species.
To understand what happened to that pond in Concord and to many more in southern New England, you'd need to go back hundreds of years. That's what Higgins had to do in his research.
Testing water samples was Higgins' first dip into science and he continued in high school with advanced science classes and later at UMass Amherst where he studied geology.
He went on to get his master's degree from Boston University in the mid-1990s and wanted to pursue a doctorate from the University of New Hampshire.
"On the back burner of my mind was that issue of the small farm pond," Higgins said.
Higgins started studying lake iron nodules, which are concentrated iron minerals that form in the bottom of lakes and ponds.
In the mid-1600s, there was a big industry in iron nodules collected from the water beds.
The iron wasn't only important because of what people could do with it on dry land, but it was important in the bottom of a lake or pond too.
"They have a high affinity for phosphorus," Higgins said. "Think of iron minerals as a sponge for phosphorus."
But iron nodules haven't been reappearing in southern New England water beds like they have elsewhere.
For his research, Higgins learned to scuba dive to take a closer look at lake and pond beds. He also combed through old records posted by libraries across the area on Google.
He also went to Nova Scotia to look at iron nodules in water beds there and take samples.
Higgins believes the reason iron nodules haven't been reappearing is because of acid rain.
"We're like the tailpipe of the country in terms of auto emissions," Higgins said.
Smog and emissions from the Ohio Valley get sent to the Northeast where it comes down, Higgins explained.
Without the iron nodules, the amount of phosphorus collected in the bottom grows more each year, which is a boon for algae.
Higgins had to stop his doctoral work as the economy turned, but the problem facing area lakes and ponds kept nagging him.
"Every night I was going to bed — forget about sheep jumping over a fence — there was so much data. It was overwhelming," Higgins said.
Without the iron nodules that would naturally absorb the excess phosphorus, there had to be another way to get rid of it.
In 2006, he started putting the bones together of his invention.
The P-Pod doesn't use iron to reduce the levels of phosphorus; rather, it uses another method that kills off the phosphorus by reducing the sunlight in the bottom of a water bed.
Higgins built a pod, or an enclosed space to go over the water bed. The water inside the enclosed space can be controlled in terms of temperature and it can also be pumped out, treated and sent back in.
Phosphorus wasn't the only victim. The P-Pod can also kill excess invasive plant life, which also need the sun to grow.
Higgins said one of the P-Pod's selling point is the ease of use in terms of red tape. No dredging is required and sediment doesn't have to be removed. It doesn't require exhaustive permitting or studies, which could take years.
Higgins has received a patent for his invention and he plans to start selling in the near future.
Higgins' family no longer owns the farm pond in Concord, but he hopes his invention will help ponds facing similar fates.
"This is a huge problem," Higgins said, "and it won't go away until the phosphorus is taken out."
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