Reply-To: "Myk Rushton" From: "Myk Rushton" To: Subject: Constructed Wetlands/Reedbeds Revision notes Date: Mon, 18 Oct 1999 19:58:48 +1300 Organization: Ecotech Culture [Start...] Ecotechnolgy Revision notes. General notes, abstracts, straight from books/reports, others. No refs. Constructed Wetlands/Reedbeds (UK) ========================= 06 october 96 Definition: A constructed wetland/reedbed (CW/R) is a designed and man made complex of saturated substrates, emergent and submergent vegetation, animallife, and water that simulates natural wetlands for human use and benefit. (Constructed wetlands for wastewater treatment: Municipal, industrial, agriculture, 1989, D.Hammer. Ed.) In schematic form CW/R's are man made inclined floor beds (1-8%) filled with a porous matrix in which rooted aquatic plants and microbial activity are used as a method of effluent treatment [Snip - Figure 1.] Schematic image showing: rooted aquatic plants; litter layer, thermal insulation; inlet pipe, dispersed flow, inlet cambian, crushed stones - biofilm layer; slope 1-8%; porous matrix (substrate), Hydraulic conductivity (HC), gravel > HC, soil < HC, Impervious liner, can be puddled, Roots and rhizomes, only large during summer, die back during winter (temperate). The Germans, major investors in CW/R over the last 30 yrs both R&D, have/had the greatest number of CW/R often very small ones for treating leachate, domestic waste from individual houses or attached to farms. The US also has CW/R systems particularly the southern states (Florida) where they have a longer growing season. The plant root systems are active for a longer period of the year. In the UK there are @400 CW/R with two of the major nine water authorities, Severn Trent, Yorkshire Water (which has some very simple systems) being the major players. Other water authorities have tried in the past to build and run CW/R with little success and no further investment. The majority of CW/R are used in secondary and tertiary treatment of sewage effluent and are generally added to conventional systems. However, they are also being used to treat highway/carpark runoff before it reaches storm drains. In the UK CW/R are known as reedbeds because of the common name of the aquatic plants used i.e Reed mace, /Typha ltifolia/ Effluent suitable for treatment by CW/R ============================== *Domestic waste water * Animal slurry *Silage liqueur *Leachate *Urban run off *Pretreatment of water entering sensitive areas. Plants. ===== There are two main species of plant generally used in CW/R systems in the UK. Typhacaea /Typha latifolia/. Tall (max 2.0M), stout, Agressicely creepting perennial. Leaves, long, flat, greyish. 10-20mm wide. Flowers in two tight contiguous spikes, 10-15mm long, the straw coloured male immediately abut the much stouter chocolate brown, sausage shaped female, Jul-Aug. /Typha angustifolia/. Slender than /T, Latifolia/ and differing in its narrower leaves 5mm wide, and the male and female spikes being well apart. Typha spp. Are found extensively in the northern hemisphere and south towards the equator. Grimineae /Phragmites australis/. A common, v.tall, stout, coarse perennial, forming extensive beds with its creeping rootstock. Leaves greyish, smooth-edged to 50cm wide, collapsing in winter. Lingule a line of hairs. Inflorescence a spreading panicle. The numerous unawned, usually dark purple spikelets with 2-10 florets and long silky hairs along the axis. Flowering Aug-Oct/ New shoots arising from rhizomes Phragmites spp. Are very wide spread throughout the world and the most commonly used in CW/R systems. Plant selection =========== *The aquatic plants used fulfil several requirements adaptable to local climate *High photosynthetic rate and biomass *High oxygen transport ability *Tolerance of pollution *Pollutant assimilative capacity. If not in the plant tissue. around or in the root structure *Resistance to pests and disease *Easy of management *Planting density? Characteristics ============ * Inlet pipe allows even distribution of effluent across width of bed i.e. gutter type construction, rate of flow v.slow. * Inlet filled with crushed rocks (forming cambion), 60-150mm dia, which act as a large filter absorbing large solids. Effluent travels down, assisted by gravity, and across the inlet further into the system. Eventually, after construction, a biofilm of bacteria and fungi develops on the surface of the stones e.g. similar to a contemporary trickle feed system. * Material flows horizontally across the CW/R. The system shown in figure 1 is a subsurface design with the material crossing the bed through the porous matrix of the substrate. It is also possible to design & build surface flow CW/R that have the advantage of not requiring substrate. however, these type of CW/R are not as effective per unit area as subsurface systems, therefore more land is required. * Size per bed 3-5m*m pe-1 (pe = people equivalent - 6 people = 1 cow. Tendency for downsizing. Ratio 3:1 (Length:width) *The inclined bed of the system assists in the movement of effluent across the bed. The slope may be between 1-8% with a preference for lower values. *Flow rate (horizontal velocity) maximum 0.0001ms. V.Slow. *Depth @0.6m, Maximum rhizome and root structure depth 0.3m (gravel greater) * Control of input in a separated supply system is relatively easy guaranteeing a steady effluent supply. Heavy rain fall causes variation in input volume possibly causing overflow. High (bund) walls and secondary systems to absorb ovrflow are included in designs. *Important that the surface of the bed is level, regular flooding, by sealing outlet, helping to kill of terrestrial weeds until aquatic plants are established. *The impervious liner of the CW?R serves to seal the bed and prevent leakage. Man made materials i.e. low density polythene or bentonite (v.fine clay) and geotextile layering are used but some systems are puddled. *The substrate must allow flow of the liquid (hydraulic capacity) through its matrix at a sufficient rate which allows treatment to occur. Liquid passing through he matrix to fast will undergo no chemical/biological changes i.e. the hydraulic capacity (HC) must be correct for the design. *Mixtures of soil and gravel seem to be the preferred substrate providing a suitable rooting medium with good HC (soils low HC, gravel high HC). Pea gravel <10mm dia usually recommended. *Longer effluent retention time enhances treatment. Not necessarily important, based on size. *soils (esp. clays absorb metals due to their high cation exchange capacity (CEC) (exchanging positive metals with toxic metals in the liquid). This can lead to acute accumulation which will require removal and disposal of the substrate i.e. absorption of lead and release of calcium. Clays can be selected to absorb particular metals. The accumulation of toxic metal cations as a result of cation exchange is NOT bioaccumulation. *Organic material i.e. litter layer or composted settled solids in surface systems) can also remove metals. eventually the CEC of the substrate can become saturated and it is necessary to test the cation levels in the substrate and replace it if necessary with contaminated substrate being removed (land fill, processing - metal extraction?) *The lifespan of a CW/R is undefinable, and dependant on the effluent type being treated. Several beds are usually designed side by side in compartments which can be isolated individually for maintenance. *The substrate contains the roots and Rhizomes of the aquatic plants. The rhizomes branch laterally and vertically to produce more leaf growth above the surface and stem growth below. The roots, which absorb material, create extensive networks. The root hairs provide a large surface area interface with the soil. The type of plants used take oxygen down through the leaves in to the underground rhizomes/roots and into the surrounding substrate. This creates an aerobic zone around the roots in an otherwise anaerobic environment allowing two populations of bacteria to grow, aerobic in the rhizosphere and anaerobic below the rhizosphere. In winter the upper portion of the leaves dies off providing thermal insulation of the substrate; organic material input (gradually increasing the depth of the substrate 5-20mm / yr), and the roots die back. The rhizomes are unaffected. The growing season of the plant is a major factor in the overall efficiency of systems. Advantages ========= *Relatively low capital costs. Compared with standard sewage/effluent methods/plants. Surface flow > land > cost. *Relatively simple construction. Subsurface > cost *Relatively low maintenance costs. Monitoring: effluent; substrate; vegetation *Robust process. Vulnerable during initial phase *Environmentally acceptable. Natural principals using plants to mop up pollution from aquatic pollutants *Ecological benefits. Naturally treated water input Disadvantages =========== *Low loading rates Monitoring ======== *Minimum frequency - monthly/seasonally *Parameters monitored: suspended solids, biological oxygen demand, total organic nitrogen the water quality parameters which can be examined include temperature, pH, DO, total suspended solids, volatile suspended solids, CBOD5 (total and soluble), COD (total and soluble), TKN, NH3-N, total P and feacl coliform [...end] <><><><><><><> From: Mark Lomas : mlomas@tinet.ie Web : http://surf.to/NaturalTechnology Natural Technology Systems, Co.Clare, Eire. Reed Bed Wastewater Treatment. Eco-Construction (RBTS= Reed Bed Treatment System, Constructed Wetland BOD = Biochemical Oxygen Demand SS= Suspended Solids) Reduction of soluble organic compounds is the most important aspect of a RBTS, since these processes lead to major reductions in BOD and SS. Complex microbiological effects take place, but, in simple terms, micro-organisms (bacteria, protozoa) use the carbon from the dissolved organic matter for the synthesis of new cellular material, and in so doing produce stabilised by-products such as water and carbon dioxide. In an aerobic situation, such as a vertical flow reed bed, aerobic chemoheterotrophs oxidise organic compounds and release ammonia, while chemoautotrophs oxidise ammoniacal nitrogen to nitrite and nitrate (nitrification). Thus : Organic Matter (C+H+N+O) + Bacteria + O2 >> New Cells + CO2, NH3, H20 In anaerobic conditions, a two-step process occurs, mainly involving anaerobic heterotrophic bacteria. Organic matter + bacteria >> alcohols, acids, new cells >> CH4,H2S,NH3,CO2,H20 + new cells The methane-forming bacteria operate at optimum between pH6.5 and pH7.5, and it is preferable to promote this range, since gases formed in more acidic conditions are more unpleasant (eg. Hydrogen Sulphide, Ammonia). 4. Nitrogen : The main mechanism for removal of nitrogen is nitrification (ammonia > nitrite) followed by denitrification (nitrite > nitrate). Nitrates are either converted to harmless Nitrogen gas by bacteria in anoxic zones or taken up by plants in the treatment system. Other methods of nitrate removal include volatilisation and adsorption, although these are of lesser significance. Organic nitrate is easily mineralised to ammoniacal nitrogen, whether in aerobic or anoxic conditions. There follows microbial nitrification, where Nitrosomonas and Nitrobacter microbes convert ammoniacal nitrogen to nitrite and nitrate. Biological denitrification is carried out by several genera of heterotrophic bacteria, including : Achromobacter; Aerobacter; Alcaligenes; Bacillus; Brevibacterium; Flavobacterium; Lactobacillus; Micrococcus; Proteus; Pseudomonas and Spirillum. Although a temporary step in the de-nitrification process produces nitric oxide and nitrous oxide, these are usually converted and passed into the atmosphere as nitrogen gas. The above is extracted from something I wrote for convincing planning departments that our reed beds do the job. It doesn't help with designing or sizing them, but our website will soon be carrying this type of practical info. If anyone's experimenting with aquaculture or nutrient recycling systems, we'll help out by e-mail, but I'd suggest buying a cheap pond test kit and playing about with the basic tests for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate, and sizing the bed for a particular application. If you're looking for re-use of nitrate eg. in feeding greenhouse crops, you'd want to hold back the treatment to give high nitrate, but if you were wanting to dispose of effluent to a watercourse, you'd also want low nitrate. Mark Lomas Natural Technology Systems Co.Clare, Eire. http://surf.to/NaturalTechnology mlomas@tinet.ie <><><><><><> Sugar cane, bananas, canna lilies, vetiver grass, comfrey and sweet potato may be used to absorb nutrients and water. Phragmites (reeds) and several species of bamboo are also used. <><><><><> On Fri, 22 Oct 1999 02:05:26 +1300, "Myk Rushton" wrote in the alt.permaculture newsgroup: After our discussion on reedbeds I came across the following in the Bamboo Specialist Nursery (NZ, Auckland) catalogue Sewage filter bamboo: P. makinoi, C. marmorea, P. hindsil, P. aurea, P. hebonis. all species shown are suckering and C. hebonis is considered invasive in warmer climates. ==== From: James Mortensen Newsgroups: rec.gardens.bamboo Subject: Re: Bamboo varieties for sewage filtering in constructed wetlands Date: Thu, 21 Oct 1999 23:02:55 -0500 Not sure what P. (or C.) hebonis. Also, what do you mean by "suckering." At least 3 on the list are monopodial and invasive. Jim Mortensen jmbamboo -- From: "Myk Rushton" Newsgroups: alt.permaculture Subject: Bamboo - Reedbeds Date: Wed, 3 Nov 1999 17:05:54 +1300 Myk wrote 22/Oct/99: P = Phyllostachy C = Chiminobambusa ---------- Phragmites australis is found in NZ. It's on the National Surveillance Plant Pests list which makes it '...an offence [in NZ] for anyone to knowingly propagate, distribute, spread, sell, or offer for sale or display...' (Biosecurity act 1993, section 52-53). Myk -- ==== From: "David Priem" Newsgroups: rec.gardens.bamboo Subject: Re: Bamboo varieties for sewage filtering in constructed wetlands Date: Fri, 22 Oct 1999 00:27:33 -0500 For sewage filtering. Darwin Nelson, who has a large bamboo farm in South Texas is experimenting with bamboo for just this purpose. One of the bamboo species he is trying is Semiarundinaria fastuosa. There may be some others he is trying as well. David ==== From: "Phillip Davidson" Newsgroups: rec.gardens.bamboo Subject: Re: Bamboo varieties for sewage filtering in constructed wetlands Date: Sat, 23 Oct 1999 23:57:25 -0700 James, check on page 27 of the latest issue of Pacific Nw Bamboo. there is an article entitled 'Double Happiness' by Oregon St Univ Ag Experiment Station that details bamboo used as a "sludge suck-up." Very interesting article. Phil Editor, Pacific NW Bamboo Jade Mountain Bamboo Nursery "We Specialize in Hardy Bamboos" http://business.fortunecity.com/ipo/180/index.html <><><><><><><><><> Living Technologies Living Technologies, Inc. 431 Pine Street Burlington, Vermont 05401 Tel: 1+802/865.4460 Fax: 1+802/865.4438 livetech@together.net http://www.livingmachines.com/ (Living Macchines) Water Recycling NCSU, Raleigh, NC http://waterrecycling.com/ Water Recycling Reference Databases on the World Wide Web http://waterrecycling.com/referenc.htm (there's an incredible amount of information here) And more from their links page: - Ocean Arks International http://www.mbl.edu/html/OA/mission.html Living Machine at the Findhorn Foundation http://www.gaia.org/findhorn/ecovil/ecolm.html Wetland Wastewater Treatment Plant, Arcata, CA http://www.humnat.org/wastwet.htm The SWAMP project http://www.computan.on.ca/~prodigal/ftgeo.htm Stensund Folk College in Trosa, south of Stockholm, Sweden http://www.algonet.se/~stensund/sec2.htm Advanced Integrated Pond (AIP) systems, St Helena, California http://www.eren.doe.gov/cities_counties Natural Technology Systems http://surf.to/NaturalTechnology email: mlomas@tinet.ie Water Recycling http://waterrecycling.com/ Water Recycling Reference Databases on the World Wide Web http://waterrecycling.com/referenc.htm (there's an incredible amount of information here) And more from their links page: - Findhorn Foundation http://www.gaia.org/findhorn/ecovil/ecolm.html South Burlington High School, teaching with benchtop Living Machines http://www.sburl.k12.vt.us/sbhs/science/lm/index.html Environmental Studies at Oberlin College http://www.libertytree.org/News/oberlin6.16.html Rocky Mountain Institute http://www.rmi.org The Hillier Group (Architecture, planning and graphic design) http://www.hillier.com/welcome.html Southwest Wetlands Group (Using constructed wetlands to treat wastewater) http://www.rt66.com/~swg Sustainable Technologies, Inc. http://www.sustainable.com/modern.html The Body Shop http://www.bodyshop.com National Small Flows Clearinghouse http://www.nsfc.wvu.edu Audubon http://www.audubon.org/local/sanctuary/cork/index.html Ocean Arks International http://www.mbl.edu/html/OA/mission.html Living Machine at the Findhorn Foundation http://www.gaia.org/findhorn/ecovil/ecolm.html Wetland Wastewater Treatment Plant, Arcata, CA http://www.humnat.org/wastwet.htm The SWAMP project http://www.computan.on.ca/~prodigal/ftgeo.htm Stensund Folk College in Trosa, south of Stockholm, Sweden http://www.algonet.se/~stensund/sec2.htm Advanced Integrated Pond (AIP) systems, St Helena, California http://www.eren.doe.gov/cities_counties <><><><><><><><><><> Candlelight Farm Permaculture Education Center (info on alternative waste treatment) http://www.candlelightpermaculture.com.au/resourcesItems/CFTour.html http://www.candlelightpermaculture.com.au/index.html <><><><> The Composting Toilet System Book. The next edition (out in September) ('99-R) by David DelPorto and Carol Steinfeld Sustainable Strategies Ecological Engineering and Design 50 Beharrell Street Concord, Masasachusetts USA 01742 Telephone: 01 978 369 9440 Fax: 01 978 369 2484 e-mail: sustainable@aics.net www.ecological-engineering.com has a multitude of worldwide examples and some of the more interesting research on the efficacy of low-tech systems is being done in NSW it seems.... -Rick Rick Valley Northern Groves PO Box 1236, Philomath, OR 97370 Mobile-(541)602-1315, hm.& msg. (541)929-7152 Bamboo catalog $2 or at "Useful Bamboos and other plants‹ Permaculture education‹ Ecological design & consultation centering on water,landform and horticultural systems" Another book: "The Humanure Handbook" <><><><><><><><><><> Website: VITAL DESIGN
  • Vital Design Lots of good information and links:
  • Farming and gardening with worms
  • Composter's Forum - Vermicomposting
  • Basic vermiculture (Campus Center for Appropriate Technology)
  • http://homepage.third-wave.com/wormpage/
  • The Worm Farm: Vermiculture Resources (Great Links)
  • World Resource Foundation(1995)
  • Environment Canada Agropur
  • Biogas in permaculture context
  • 10/96 Municipal Solid Waste
  • Volvo use of methane in engines
  • Recycling World Biomass Recycling
  • The Biomass Energy Alliance's 12/95
  • Energy from biomass Sussex course
  • Rainbow Mealworms, Inc.">/A>
  • Care Sheet for Food Insects
  • Biological supplies
  • REARING MEALWORMS HYG 2135
  • Aqualink fresh food
  • Aquaria live food
  • Aquaculture at NELHA
  • Freshwater Resources
  • Aquaculture & Fisheries
  • Fish & Wildlife Technology
  • NOAA Sust,Fisheries
  • http://www.intercom.net/biz/aquaedu/hatech/
  • Ahoy! Message board
  • Hydroponics Aquaponics Aquaculture
  • IUWF
  • hydrobiz
  • hydro4u
  • growroom
  • north hydro
  • what is hydroponics
  • plant_plane_hydro_faq
  • http://www.hydro4u.com/books.html
  • http://wormsway.com/hydro1.html
  • S & S Aqua farm Bioponics System
  • Homegrown Hydroponics
  • Hydroponics page
  • World wide water
  • Hydroponics IUWF
  • clivus
  • clivus
  • sunmar
  • Australian Permaculture
  • Composting Toilets
  • sancor
  • sunmar
  • keksintosaatio
  • humanure
  • Sourcebook: Composting Toilets
  • sunmar
  • tree_of_life
  • In Your Yard
  • EP - waste waters
  • What kind of sewage treatment plant is this?
  • Waterless Composting Toilet ..Clivus Multrum
  • NATURE-LOO
  • Nitrogen and Phosphorus Reclamation from Municipal Wastewater Through an Artificial Food-Chain System
  • Tree fruit
  • Biohaven
  • Horticulture web
  • http://www.food.vic.gov.au/c/c20.htm
  • http://tfrec.ncw.net/Orchard/compost96.html
  • http://www.sarep.ucdavis.edu/sarep/newsltr/v5n4/sa-12.htm
  • http://www.alternatives.com/libs/agfruit.htm
  • http://www.corvallis.disposal.com/no_frame/compost.html
  • http://www.waste.uni-essen.de/guidelin/1_objec.htm
  • http://www.waste.uni-essen.de/guidelin/index.htm
  • http://www.cityfarmer.org/homecompost4.html
  • http://www.kauai.net/humanure/humanure.html
  • http://fadr.msu.ru/rodale/gp/compost.html
  • http://www.waste.uni-essen.de/guidelin/3_objec.htm
  • CCAT Waste Management
  • COMPOST
  • The compost resource page
  • Gourmet Gardener
  • http://www.midwestorganic.org/survey/16.html
  • http://www.nettrek.com.au/~dancas/sustainp.html
  • http://www.ecotopia.org/ehof/chadwick/bio.html
  • http://www.ecotopia.org/ehof/chadwick/links.html
  • http://www.midwestorganic.org/survey/exec.html
  • http://www.greenmoney.com/pub/sustagri.htm
  • http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/~experts/vegetables/
  • http://www.midwestorganic.org/aboutorganic.html
  • Amazing Environmental Organization
  • Environmental Information Servers by Region
  • Ecology Action
  • Friends of the Earth Home Page
  • Environmental information
  • Environment Canada
  • GreenNet Home Page
  • Gaia Education Outreach Institute
  • Highland ECO Centre - Whats in it?
  • Other Biodiversity and Environmental Servers
  • Rodale Institute Research Center
  • Sierra Club Home Page
  • The 20000 Servers List
  • The World-Wide Web Virtual Library: Environmental Engineering
  • TV Net -- KUSA Denver, CO
  • The Conservation Consortium
  • 454.2 Environmental Impact and Protection
  • Index to permaculture resources - by type
  • Permaculture International Homepage
  • Permaculture resources on the Internet
  • Edible Landscaping Four winds
  • Plants for a future
  • Permaculture Links
  • Permaculture Resources at CSF
  • Permaculture Resources <><><><><><><><><><> REALLY traditional sewage treatment Wall Street Journal Andrew C. Revkin Wall Street Journal Andrew C. Revkin Our Towns LLOYD, N.Y. In his 28 years working at sewage treatment plants, John L. Jankiewicz has not known much excitement. You watch gauges, check the bacteria that digest waste, find cheap ways to dispose of sludge, keep turning gray water into clear water. Once, he found a quarter-carat diamond in a grit-collecting grate. His mother-in-law now wears it, Mr. Jankiewicz said. "She knows where it came from, " he said. "She doesn't mind." But one day last year, he said, while attending one of an endlessly boring series of conferences that are required to keep his license current, he found himself energized by one speaker's message: simple beds of marsh grass can clean waste water as effectively as costly assemblages of concrete tanks, steel pipes and electricity-hungry oxygen pumps. In essence, the speaker was saying that "everything I've been doing for 28 years is a stupid waste," Mr. Jankiewicz recalled. The talk described a "reed bed" treatment system in a small town in the Ecuadorean rain forest that used no electricity and required hardly any maintenance. It was even capable of turning rivulets of offal from a slaughterhouse into drinkable water. All with beds of tall grass. "It sounded far too good to be true, " Mr. Jankiewicz said. So he began tossing questions at the speaker, Dr. Ronald L. Lavigne, an environmental technology expert from the University of Massachusetts, and each one was answered. Mr. Jankiewicz, 49, the water and sewer administrator for Lloyd, NY, population 9,000, persuaded the town supervisor to send him 3,300 miles south to Shushufindi, a similar sized oil-prospecting town deep in the Ecuadorean jungle, to check out the idea. A few months later, Mr. Jankiewicz, who had never traveled abroad, was in a tropical version of the Wild West, witnessing a near lynching as a mob tackled a man with a machete who had attacked a woman. But he also saw the treatment system work. Last summer, he built a pilot-sized version back at the sewage plant in this sleepy Ulster County town of cider mills, orchards and scattered industrial parks. Now Mr. Jankiewicz stood next to the 30-by-50-foot patch of eye-high phragmites reeds that he planted last year and described how the reeds suck water from tons of sludge and pump oxygen through mats of roots to buried bacteria, which break down noxious materials in the waste. No need for machines to do the same thing. Maintenance? He won't have to clean out the bed for eight or nine years. And the plants do their job winter or summer. Dr. Lavigne was in Lloyd to check up on the project. He said different versions of the system are used elsewhere in the Northeast. A fish farm in Massachusetts uses beds of basil to treat waste. Lloyd's man-made marsh sits next to a building housing the energy-guzzling press that is the standard way of squeezing water from sludge. The marsh is doing the same job for about half the cost, Mr. Jankiewicz said. Artificial marshes may not only save money at the treatment plant, but also keep 300 jobs in Lloyd that might have shifted to New Jersey. A German-owned company that makes light fixtures four miles from the sewage plant had a failed septic system. Building a sewer line was too costly, so the company was considering moving out. Now, though, the company, Zumtobel Staff Lighting, is going to use an artificial marsh beyond its parking lot to treat its waste water, Mr. Jankiewicz said. Spurred by Mr. Jankiewicz, two cider mills in the area are building artificial wetlands to treat their annual autumn flood of unusable juice and other waste. In each case, costly, energy-guzzling equipment is being replaced by nothing but plants Mr. Jankiewicz said he has been reading lots of books on global environmental issues lately. It's nice to do something in Lloyd that might, in a small way, reduce the town's impact on the planet, he said. Back at the sewage plant, Mr. Jankiewicz pointed to an adjacent house lot the town just bought so he can expand to a full-sized sludge-treating marsh, bypassing one step in the process. "This is not a delicate experiment," he said. "I've flooded it with sludge, drowned the plants. And it just keeps on ticking. " <><><><> See also: http://metalab.unc.edu/permaculture http://metalab.unc.edu/intergarden http://metalab.unc.edu/intergarden/orgfarm/bioremediation http://metalab.unc.edu/intergarden/orgfarm/permaculture http://metalab.unc.edu/intergarden/orgfarm/aquaculture http://metalab.unc.edu/intergarden/orgfarm/hyperaccumulation http://metalab.unc.edu/intergarden/orgfarm/vermiculture http://metalab.unc.edu/intergarden/orgfarm/composting http://metalab.unc.edu/intergarden/orgfarm/literature http://metalab.unc.edu/intergarden/rural-skills <><><><>