Bioaugmentation is the deliberate introduction of selected microbial strains into a system to restore or accelerate biological processes that have been depleted or disrupted. It is the foundation of applied environmental microbiology — practiced by scientists and engineers in wastewater treatment, industrial remediation, and ecological restoration for more than three decades. What our technology brings is automation, precision, and continuous delivery at scale.
The microbes at the center of our process are Bacilli — facultative heterotrophs capable of digesting complex organic compounds both aerobically and anaerobically. They are non-pathogenic, FDA-GRAS listed, BSL-1 classified, and non-GMO. Grown on-site to site-specific concentrations, they are delivered into water bodies, waste streams, and on-site treatment systems at the volumes and frequencies required to produce measurable results.
Long Island sits on a sole-source aquifer — the only drinking water supply for three million people, recharged entirely by rainfall percolating through degraded and biologically compromised ground. There is no pipeline from the mainland. There is no alternative supply. Bioaugmentation restores the microbial populations that process contaminants before they reach the water table.
As long as stormwater, wastewater, and land management practices remain unchanged, the contamination load remains. Automated bioaugmentation is a continuous, active treatment — not a one-time application — that compensates for and processes what those practices generate on an ongoing basis. Biology does the work. We engineer the biology.
The biology already knows what to do. Our systems deliver it — at the concentrations, frequencies, and scales required to produce results that field professionals can measure.
Synthetic fertilizers and pesticides migrate into the ground with every rain event, killing the microbial communities that would otherwise process contaminants before they reach groundwater. The biological filtration capacity of the terrain is destroyed at the source.
Impervious surfaces and compacted turf generate fast-moving runoff that carries pollutants, erodes channels, and bypasses all natural filtration. Without functioning microbial communities below ground, water that does infiltrate carries its contaminant load directly to the water table.
Hardened shorelines — bulkheads, rip-rap, seawalls — eliminate the biological buffer zone that normally intercepts upland nutrients and prevents direct discharge into coastal water bodies. Without that buffer, every contaminant from the upland landscape reaches the water unprocessed.
Synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, and compaction destroy the microbial communities that make biological water filtration possible. Without those communities, the terrain’s natural processing capacity collapses and pollutants flow unprocessed into the nearest water body. Bioaugmentation restores that capacity directly.
EnBiorganic, a pioneer in “automated bioaugmentation,” offers a patented process to grow on site varieties of bacilli to address a variety of environmental challenges. What they grow is — BSL-1, non-pathogenic, FDA-GRAS, organic, and Non-GMO. Spadefoot is the exclusive licensed partner for New York and New England.
As facultative heterotrophs (they can digest both aerobically and anaerobically), EnBiorganic’s curated organisms enhance enzymatic breakdown of complex organics upstream from existing treatment facilities without inhibiting downstream biological treatment or requiring capital modification to existing systems. Their microbial generators are simple add-ons.
Where stormwater, wastewater, and land use practices remain unchanged, the source of the problem remains. EnBiorganic’s automated bioaugmentation is designed for exactly that reality: an active, continuous biological treatment that processes what those practices generate, reducing total solids volume, facilitating dewatering, and decreasing the mass of compounds requiring downstream handling.
Applied upstream in existing treatment systems, EnBiorganic™ reduces total suspended solids by 63%, FOG by 95%, and biosolids hauling costs by 62%, documented in operational municipal deployments. No major capital modifications required. Modular and scalable for phased pilot evaluation.
High-FOG process water, industrial holding systems, and commercial waste streams benefit from upstream biological breakdown, reducing hauling volume, improving dewatering, and lowering the operational burden of managing high-solids organic loads.
EnBiorganic™ does not inhibit nitrifiers or destabilize existing biological treatment. It enhances upstream organic breakdown without disrupting downstream performance. FDA-GRAS · BSL-1 · Non-GMO · Compatible with existing infrastructure.
The technology is designed for phased pilot evaluation before full-scale commitment. Operators validate performance against their specific influent characteristics and system conditions before expanding deployment, consistent with utility and industrial risk tolerance.
EnBiomatic is Spadefoot’s precision biological dosing unit: a compact, automated system that introduces FDA-GRAS, Non-GMO Bacillus consortia into water bodies, retention basins, and on-site waste systems on a continuous daily schedule. It is the residential and small-commercial-scale complement to EnBiorganic large-scale pretreatment, designed for ongoing biological maintenance without chemical inputs, mechanical aeration, or ongoing reagent costs.
The unit is no larger than a coffee grinder. It installs on any main line in minutes — no excavation, no permits, no infrastructure modification. It runs on 6V lithium battery or 110V hardwired power, is IP65 weatherproof rated, and includes cold-weather heating accommodations. The 250ml consortia cartridge carries a full 12 months of daily doses.
The biology was curated by scientists. The automation delivers it daily. Every dosing cycle builds on the last — unlike mechanical systems that degrade over time, the biological community strengthens.
EnBiomatic installs on any residential or commercial septic main line in minutes. Daily Bacillus dosing reduces solids accumulation, eliminates odor, and extends pump-out intervals, reducing service frequency and protecting the drain field from premature failure. A holding tank becomes a digestion chamber.
A question field professionals often raise: how long does the microbial generator need to be on-site? The answer depends entirely on what is driving the contamination load. As long as stormwater management, wastewater practices, and land use remain unchanged, the biological treatment remains necessary. When those underlying conditions change — through ecological restoration, modified land management, or conversion away from synthetic inputs — the system’s load decreases accordingly. Landscape ecology is a complementary discipline, and one that Spadefoot practices. The science of bioaugmentation, however, stands on its own.
Across ponds, stormwater systems, and sewer infrastructure, the same pattern shows up over time:
Organic material and nutrients build up faster than they can be broken down.
This happens through normal, everyday conditions—leaves and plant debris, soil disturbance and runoff, fertilized landscapes, and wastewater inputs. No single source is the issue. It’s the accumulation.
Over time, that accumulation becomes muck:
In healthy systems, microbes continuously break this material down.
When inputs increase, that process falls behind.
We strengthen the biology that already does the work—helping systems keep up again.
Think of it as the microbial equivalent of planting a tree: a simple, natural step that improves how the system functions over time
This is not a replacement for watershed management—it works alongside it.
Reducing inputs at the source will always be essential.
But even well-managed systems continue to receive organic material and nutrients.
Bioaugmentation helps manage what’s already in the system, improving performance while longer-term watershed efforts take effect.
The biology needed to break down organic material is already present.
What’s often missing is enough of it—consistently active—to keep up with ongoing inputs.
We provide that consistency so systems process what they receive instead of letting it accumulate.
Water systems don’t fail all at once—they fall behind over time.
Watershed management reduces what enters the system.
We help the system handle what’s already there.
Together, that’s how long-term water quality is maintained.
Reduction in total suspended solids in municipal deployments
Tell us about your system, challenges, and operating conditions—our team will design a bioaugmentation strategy that reduces organic load, improves efficiency, and lowers long-term operational costs.
