.webp?t=1771347959)
James L. Barnard, 90, a pioneer of biological nutrient removal now used worldwide to protect water bodies from eutrophication, a process that turns healthy bodies of water into oxygen-deprived systems overwhelmed by algae and threatens ecosystems and drinking water and other uses, died Jan. 27 in Leawood, Kansas.
Barnard had more than six decades of experience in wastewater treatment research, including serving as global practice and technology leader at Black & Veatch for 27 years, retiring in 2024.
Barnard’s early research addressed the serious challenges of eutrophication and water scarcity. His four-stage nitrogen removal process and development of enhanced biological phosphorus removal became the basis for the world’s first large-scale biological nutrient removal plant in Johannesburg, South Africa. What began as a regional breakthrough reshaped wastewater treatment practices around the world, according to Black & Veatch.
He went on to lead the design of more than 100 global nutrient removal facilities, including landmark projects on five continents. His leadership and technical expertise supported large and complex treatment systems in New York City, Hong Kong and other locations, the company notes.
Born in Cape Town, South Africa, Barnard studied civil engineering at Stellenbosch University, located in the city of that name in the country, before continuing his studies at the University of Texas-Austin. After completing his Ph.D. in water resources and environmental health engineering at Nashville-based Vanderbilt University, in 1971, Barnard returned to Cape Town, a highly populated area suffering from water scarcity and poor water quality and where water treatment standards did not include the removal of nitrogen and phosphorus, causing severe eutrophication.
“When I observed the green pea soup overflowing one of these reservoirs, I decided to look for biological means of removing these nutrients,” Barnard said before his retirement. “At that time, practices like chemical treatment and extraction and ammonia were the standard. Biological treatment was still only at the laboratory scale.”
Convincing Johannesburg to apply the process Barnard developed in the lab to its Goudkopples wastewater treatment plant, now one of the largest activated sludge biological nutrient removal facilities in southern Africa, was a career highlight, Barnard said. It currently treats between 120 and 150 megaliters of waste water per day.
Barnard oversaw the design, construction and commissioning of the first nutrient removal system in the US at the Palmetto Wastewater Treatment Plant in Florida in 1978. Another key achievement was the improved performance of the Sacramento Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant.
“It was such a tight design with everything working so well. The facility has almost eliminated ammonia and significantly reduced nitrogen in the discharge,” he said.
At Black & Veatch, Barnard “expanded innovation, elevated the company’s technical reputation and mentored generations of engineers whose work continues to influence wastewater treatment practices and biological nutrient removal design around the world,” says Leon Downing, the company’s director of water solutions research.
He notes that “Barnard’s professional reputation, scientific achievements and deeply personal mentorship have left a lasting legacy on the global water profession and on Black & Veatch’s culture and technical excellence,” adding that his “facility design to achieve biological nutrient removal with a focus on operations and maintenance will be a lasting legacy to the industry.”
One thing “that made James absolutely unique was his unwavering focus on operations, listening to how operations personnel approached plant control and figuring out what was causing the results they were seeing,” says Chris deBarbadillo, the firm’s plant optimization practice leader. “His ability to do that helped lead to the many process improvements he made over the decades that the industry adopted. Operators loved him.”
Among numerous recognitions in his career, Barnard received the Water Environment Federation Camp Award, the International Water Association Medal, the OPAL Award of the American Society of Civil Engineers, the International Warter Week Lee Kuan Yew Water Prize, honorary doctorates from three universities and election to the US National Academy of Engineering.
Barnard’s advice to young engineers was to “be curious and question everything. Don’t just accept what’s in the box as definitive.”
