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| Wastewater Gardens® for Community
Projects |
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Community
projects | Schools
| Stakeholders
| Sustainability
| Focus area | A selection of projects |
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Wastewater Gardens®
can be used to solve the health and environmental problems
caused by wastewater. They are an economical, practical,
low maintenance, and sure-safe solution to wastewater
treatment.
The systems clearly demonstrate a new approach to greening,
beautifying communities while recycling wastewater and
reducing water consumption. They use natural, ecological
mechanisms and a minimum of machinery and electricity
to solve problems with sewage causing bad health and
environmental damage. Cost saving compared to a centralized
sewage treatment plant is considerable.
Wastewater Gardens® increase community awareness
and ownership of wastewater treatment processes. These
systems stimulate general cleanup of communities, enhanced
self-image, and catalyzed awareness within the community
of the need to conserve water.
If you are interested in discussing options for the
development of an integrated proposal for a community
Wastewater Gardens® development project contact
us to arrange a consultation. |
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| The technology is more
than sustainable – the wetland is restorative, producing
beauty and food and a new natural diversity that would
not exist right now in the middle of our campus. - Chris Maxey, Director of the Island School, Cape Eleuthera, the Bahamas |
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| Wastewater Gardens® can be applied
to larger populations, such as community or village /
town scale projects. There are numerous examples of subsurface
flow wetlands treating populations of up to 20,000 people
in the United States, or for industrial treatment involvement
millions of liters or gallons of wastewater daily.
In these cases, the Wastewater Gardens® can be
scaled in size for a single-treatment area, or the problems
can be solved with a series of decentralized, regional
Wastewater Gardens® to minimize the cost and extent
of pumping and piping and to take maximal advantage
of gravity flow.
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| Wastewater Gardens® can be a low-cost
and effective solution to the problem of how to deal with
septage and wastewater pumped out from holding tanks.
A combined system utilizing separation of the wastewater
into solids, which can be composted to produce beneficial
organic fertilizer, and the rest of the wastewater treated
in a series of Wastewater Gardens® sized for the amount
of wastewater received.
Saleable products such as fast-growing timber, cut
flowers, fibre for handicraft and fruit can be grown
in the Wastewater Gardens®. The sale of compost,
and other products from the systems and a user charge
for the trucks delivering the wastewater, can help defray
the costs of construction and operation of the treatment
system.
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Wastewater Gardens® have been installed in schools
worldwide. They offer an excellent opportunity to increase
student and school staff’s understanding about
the practical application of ecological processes for
water conservation and recycling.
Students are encouraged to monitor the system performance
and, when appropriate, to be involved in basic systems
maintenance. This offers them a practical opportunity
to learn, first hand, how these simple and effective
ecological approaches work.
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| During each stage of project development
communities are consulted, and whenever possible, employed
for systems construction. Communities are involved in
topographical mapping, to determine flood levels and areas
of soil inundation, and systems design and development.
Community members advise on which plants should be
used in the systems, and our Wastewater gardens®
representative assists with advice on which types of
plants can be safely harvested, and guidelines for using
cuttings from the wide diversity of plants in the systems
for ongoing greening of the community.
Community workshops are held on the subjects of water
conservation, water recycling and the ongoing maintenance
and operation of the new systems. These are supported
by educational / public awareness tools developed by
Yayasan IDEP. |
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| Wastewater Gardens® use minimum machinery and no
chemicals, yet achieve high reduction of coliform bacteria
(98+%) and other wastewater contaminants, turning them
into green plants in lush, rapidly growing wetland ecosystems.
The only imported materials used are PVC pipes and
septic tank filters, all of which will last for decades
(far longer than a conventional STP). Systems are designed
to make maximal use of gravity-flow and minimum pumping
for flood-water season disposal of final effluent.
The system can continue to function, given cleaning
of the gravel, or substitution of fresh gravel when
porosity of the original gravel declines (decades later). |
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| Yayasan IDEP and the Planetary Coral Reef Foundation
are committed to introducing this technology to communities
where the health and environmental problems associated
with improper disposal of wastewater are the greatest. |
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| Through our projects we empower local communities by
using : |
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• An appropriate
technology that can be understood and managed & maintained
by local communities
• Effective public
awareness campaigns and other educational tools about
related issues
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A high level of stakeholder participation |
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| In tropical developing countries natural resources of
warm tropical temperatures and abundant sunlight make
ecological engineered solutions the most appropriate.
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• The Sunrise
School, Legian, Bali
• The Cape Eleuthera
Isand School, The Bahamas
• Lagellonian
University, Research Center, Magursky National Park, Poland
• Emu Creek Community,
Kununurra, N West Australia
• The Tirtagangga
Water Palace, Bali, Indonesia
• The Children’s
village, Manila Philippines
• MAP Tiwoho Community
Center - Bunaken, Sulawesi
• Legian Community
Clinic, Bali
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Birdwood Downs, Derby, WA, Australia |
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| ©2004 Wastewater Gardens® PCRF • www.pcrf.org
• Indonesia Rep. Yayasan IDEP : www.idepfoundation.org |
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