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| Wastewater Gardens® for Medical
Facilities |
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Links to human
health | Wastewater
Gardens® can help | Additional
benefits for medical facilities |
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| Pollution of water by improperly
or inadequately treated sewage is a leading cause of human
disease worldwide. About three billion people today lack
safe sanitation. Over 95% of sewage in developing countries
is today discharged untreated, polluting rivers, lakes
and coastal areas. |
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Between 2 to 4 billion people suffer annually from diseases
linked to contaminated water
• 3.5 million
people, mostly children under 5, die each year from
a water-related disease
• Every day:
Over 9,000 people die of water-related illnesses
• Every hour:
400 people die of water-related illnesses
• Every minute:
7 people die of water related illnesses
• Every 8 seconds:
Someone dies from contaminated water
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| Conventional sewage systems are expensive
and difficult to operate and maintain and so have rarely
been applied to solve the sanitation needs for developing
countries, including their medical facilities, where proper
sewage treatment is especially critical to avoid the spread
of diseases. |
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Wastewater Gardens® can be used
to solve the health and environmental problems caused
by improperly treated wastewater, as shown in the following
test results from MPL Laboratory in Perth, a certified
water-quality testing lab.
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| Parameter |
BOD-5
Biochemical Oxygen
Demand - mg/l |
TSSTotal Suspended
Solids - mg/l |
Total
Nitrogen
mg/l |
Total
Phosphorus
mg/l |
Total
Coliform
Cfu/100ml |
Average
in Septic Tank |
241 |
338 |
52.5 |
10.3 |
6,285,000
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Average Wastewater
Garden discharge |
12 |
16.5 |
27 |
7.3 |
116,000
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| Percent Reduction |
95% |
95% |
48% |
30% |
98.2% |
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If nutrient reductions are presented
on a mass flow basis (that is accounting for evapotranspiration
of water in the Wastewater Garden which averaged 20%
yearly), the total reduction in Nitrogen is 59%, and
total reduction of Phosphorus is 44%.
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Wastewater Gardens® are an economical, practical,
low maintenance, and sure-safe solution to wastewater
treatment. They 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.
Rural Health clinics and medical facilities are often
a center of community activity. They are the primary
entry point for introducing important health related
information to the community at large. Wastewater Gardens®
installed at these facilities can help increase community
understanding about the wastewater treatment processes,
and the need for proper hygene and water conservation.
If you are interested in discussing options for the
development of an integrated proposal for a Wastewater
Gardens® in local medical facilities contact us
to arrange a consultation. |
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| ©2004 Wastewater Gardens® PCRF • www.pcrf.org
• Indonesia Rep. Yayasan IDEP : www.idepfoundation.org |
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