ALIA Treatment Technology
Cleaning the water where it matters most.
What is ALIA?
ALIA (Aquatic Life Intelligence Architecture) is Project PEARL's shoreline treatment technology that combines oyster biofiltration with mechanical filtration to intercept stormwater pollution where it enters waterways.
PEARL systems operate at the shoreline where runoff enters waterways — intercepting pollution before it spreads with compact oyster biofiltration and multi-stage mechanical filtration.
The Shoreline Gap
Land-based tools stop at the water's edge. Pollution doesn't.
Bioswales, retention ponds, and street sweeping do valuable work on land. But once stormwater runoff crosses the shoreline into the water column, no infrastructure intercepts it. Sediment settles on habitat. Nutrients drive algal blooms. Bacteria spreads through shellfish beds and swimming areas.
PEARL was built to close that gap. We deploy treatment systems directly in the water, at the point where pollution concentrates and ecosystems are most stressed.
How It Works
Multi-Stage Active Filtration
Three treatment stages work together: physical pre-treatment removes large solids, chemical polishing targets dissolved nutrients, and biological filtration through live oyster raceways handles what remains.
Physical Pre-Treatment
Minnow trap entry, 500µm mesh screen, and gravity settling remove large debris, sediment, and suspended solids before water enters the chemical stage.
Chemical Polishing
Zeolite, biochar, and nitrogen/phosphorus resin media adsorb dissolved nutrients and contaminants that physical filtration cannot capture.
Biological Filtration
Live oyster raceways filter particles down to 2µm, naturally removing bacteria, phytoplankton, and fine sediment. A 50µm final screen ensures clean effluent.
Field Validated
Milton, Florida — January 2025
Blackwater River watershed · Real stormwater runoff · 7-day continuous deployment · Independent lab verification
“The E. coli reduction was unplanned. The system was designed for sediment. The fact that it knocked bacteria below detection limits showed us what an integrated biological and mechanical approach can do in real conditions.”
Deployment
Built to Go Where the Problem Is
PEARL systems are compact, modular units designed for shoreline deployment. They operate from small vessels in shallow estuarine waters or as fixed installations at stormwater outfalls — not large offshore structures.
Vessel-Mounted Platform
Compact mobile treatment for shallow tidal areas and estuarine environments. Small-scale deployment from workboats — no land acquisition required and simplified permitting. Repositionable based on seasonal conditions.
Fixed Dockside System
Permanent infrastructure for freshwater MS4 outfalls, PFAS hotspots, and year-round compliance points. Smaller footprint for constrained sites.
More Than a Filter
Every unit is a data node.
Each PEARL system carries 8 monitoring points that capture influent and effluent data in real time — TSS, turbidity, nutrients, microplastics, and dissolved oxygen. That data feeds directly into the PEARL Intelligence Network.
Paired with federal datasets from USGS, EPA, and NOAA, every deployment adds resolution to a national picture of water quality. Treatment and monitoring become the same infrastructure.
System Architecture
Diagnose and treat. One platform.
The only integrated system that identifies where waterways are failing and deploys physical infrastructure to fix them.
PIN — The Diagnostic Layer
The PEARL Intelligence Network monitors surface water quality across all 50 states. 565,000+ assessment points. Real-time federal data from USGS, EPA, NOAA, and state agencies. Role-based dashboards for municipalities, regulators, researchers, and educators.
PEARL — The Treatment Layer
Modular biofiltration and mechanical treatment deployed at the shoreline. Oyster raceways and progressive mesh screens intercept what land-based BMPs miss. Each unit generates high-frequency treatment data that feeds back into PIN.
The goal is simple.
Clean water gives ecosystems a fair chance. It gives communities something to believe in. We are building the tools to prove that restoration works — with data, not promises — and to leave these waterways in better shape than we found them.
If you work on water quality, we should talk.
Available for state, federal, and municipal partners