Murdoch wrote: <snip>
>The technology you cite is interesting, although my initial take is >that it's not the be-all end-all appropriate for everywhere, but worth >pursuing only for some communities, depending on the exact needs and >size. I am skeptical of the heavy metal treatment claims made for >this technology. The Arcata system is not unique, nor even controversial, it's pretty well-established in a large number of variations worldwide. Phytoremediation is an established method of heavy-metal extraction, as well as a wide range of other pollutants. Best plants for this are water hyacinth and duckweed. See "Pond weeds": http://journeytoforever.org/edu_pond.html There's a water hyacinth project in San Diego county, at the San Pasqual Aquatic Treatment Facility. Best Keith > > > Its interesting how some pointed out that bird droppings created > > algae blooms -- yet 98% of the US populous imply petrochemical farmers > > are at fault while water edge land owners douse their yards with > > fertilizer and sprinkler runoff, not to mention city street storm drainage, > > then hop in their water craft to help the wind stir it up. > > A buffer zone might be helpful before entering lakes, streams, rivers, etc. > > > > Composting is a low energy input alternative > > and another possibility with links > > provides a walk thru the tulips javascript slide show > > involving clarifier biogas digesters -- > > > > > > Arcataâs Green Machine Wetland Treats Wastewater, Shelters Birds > > By Mark Worth > > 1999 > > Special to ABCNEWS.com > > http://abcnews.go.com/sections/tech/DailyNews/arcatamarsh990702.html > > > > S U M M A R Y > > For two decades Arcataâs wetlands have provided an environmental solution > > to wastewater treatment and wildlife preservation, > > providing a model for communities worldwide. > > > > A R C A T A, Calif. ÷ This enclave along northern Californiaâs >Redwoods Coast, > > home to Humboldt State University, can seem like a tie-dyed, >ponytailed bastion > > of â60s idealism. But thereâs nothing outdated about how Arcata >decided to deal with > > its wastewater problem 20 years ago. > > > > In May 1979, after a two-year political battle, the city won >approval from state officials > > to treat its sewage not with chemicals but with a system of >freshwater marshes > > that has since become a model for natural wastewater treatment >throughout the world. > > > > Not only does the Arcata Marsh and Wildlife Sanctuary treat more than > > 2 million gallons of effluent a day, it also provides feeding, >roosting and mating habitat > > for more than 200 varieties of resident and migratory birds along >the Pacific Flyway, > > including the endangered peregrine falcon and California brown pelican. > > > > ãItâs such a glorious solution,ä docent Alan Laurent told >visitors during a recent tour > > of the 154-acre facility, shortly after spotting two Northern >harrier hawks, > > ãyou wonder why every community doesnât do it.ä > > > > Others Follow Lead > > > > Many communities are following Arcataâs lead. Thirty years after >the technique > > was pioneered at the Max Planck Institute in Germany, >ãconstructed treatment wetlands,ä > > as they are known in this obscure but blossoming technological subculture, > > now number more than 600 in North America and 500 in Europe. > > > > From a potato-processing plant in Connell, Wash., > > to a coal-fired power plant in Muscle Shoals, Ala.; > > from an oil refinery in Mandan, N.D., > > to the phosphorous-fouled Florida Everglades (site of the worldâs >largest treatment marsh), > > these living filters are doing some of humanityâs dirtiest work. > > More than 150 treatment wetlands smatter the Dutch countryside. > > A graduate student from Arcata-based Humboldt State University > > recently helped build a treatment marsh in Laos. > > A White House scientific panel is currently mulling policy initiatives > > to ease regulatory hurdles. > > > > ãItâs a green solution to pollution,ä says Robert Kadlec, > > a retired University of Michigan chemical engineering professor > > and one of the worldâs foremost treatment-wetland consultants. > > ãNobody can stop it now.ä > > > > The Natural Treatment > > > > The state of California tried to stop it. In the mid â70s a proposed > > $55 million regional sewage-treatment system would have entailed > > increasing Arcatansâ wastewater rates by 70 percent > > and piping sewage through shipping lanes under Humboldt Bay. > > > > Swayed by such evidence as a video of a peregrine falcon swooping down > > to make a kill in one of the cityâs treatment-plant oxidation ponds, > > state officials eventually gave their blessing to the project. > > Backed by federal and state grants, a team of city officials, > > Humboldt State professors and students, conservationists, bird enthusiasts > > and community volunteers set about turning a piece of land once called > > ãa blighted, miserable open dumpä into a facility that in 1987 won > > Harvard Universityâs Innovations in Government Award. > > > > Arcata initially treats its sewage varies much like most other >U.S. communities. > > Solids are removed by a clarifier and most compounds (ammonia, >nitrates, phosphates) > > are removed in oxidation ponds stocked with algae, bacteria, >insects and crustaceans. > > At this point, however, instead of being treated with chemicals, > > the wastewater flows through a series of man-made ãtreatmentä and >ãenhancementä marshes > > that remove virtually all remaining contaminants. > > > > Only One Arcata > > > > Wetlands are not a sewage-treatment solution for every community. > > The most significant challenge for many cities is finding enough > > land to handle their wastewater output. Cases of overloaded >systems are not uncommon, > > though generally not severe, according to Joe Prenger of the >Center for Wetlands > > at the University of Florida. Moreover, national regulatory >standards have yet to be established, > > bogging down permitting procedures for wetland wastewater >treatment facilities. > > > > Perhaps the most remarkable talent of a marsh is its ability to deal with > > so-called heavy metals, such as copper, zinc, chromium and cadmium. > > These industrial byproducts can cause neurological, immunological >and other problems > > in people and animals. Treatment marshes effectively neutralize >heavy metals > > in two ways ÷ by absorbing the substances directly into sediments, > > or by converting reactive metallic sulfates into insoluble >sulfides, which then settle to the bottom. > > > > Arcataâs effluent-fed wetlands support native plants such as >bulrushes and cattails, > > which in turn support protozoans and other microorganisms. The >protozoans support insects > > such as dragonflies and midges, food for dozens of species of >birds that benefit > > from the largest shorebird-friendly estuary between San Francisco >and Coos Bay, Ore. > > > > ãYouâre tied into Mother Nature to do some of the hard work for you,ä said > > Bob Bastian of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, > > which recently published case studies of 17 combination treatment >marsh/wildlife sanctuaries > > throughout the country. ãWhat they did happened in spite of the system, > > not because of the system. Thereâs only one Arcata.ä > > > > Only one Arcata ÷ but, as time goes on, many more sewage-treatment marshes. > > > > ================ > > > > A Green Idea > > Manmade Marshes are a Possible Pollution Solution > > > > By Robert Jablon > > The Associated Press > > A N A H E I M, Calif. > > http://abcnews.go.com/sections/living/DailyNews/wetlands990504.html > > > > S U M M A R Y > > Experts say that wetlands can filter water more effectively > > and at less cost than chemical treatment plants. Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Biofuels list archives: http://archive.nnytech.net/ Please do NOT send Unsubscribe messages to the list address. To unsubscribe, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
