The idea of turning wastewater into drinking water might make your stomach churn, but for the dry American southwest, it’s a smart, economic reality.
As the Associated Press reports, 2,000 acres of man-made wetlands in Fairfield, Texas are naturally filtering out the pollutants from the area’s treated wastewater, slowly converting the muck into 65,000 gallons of drinking water per day.
This system — which, since beginning operations in 2002, consists of a series of sedimentation ponds and wetland cells — is part of the George W. Shannon Wetland Water Reuse project and is the first of its kind in the country.
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It takes about a week for the vegetation, soils and microbes residing in the wetlands to filter out the phosphorous and nitrates in the water that’s been diverted from the Trinity River (which mostly contains treated wastewater). This naturally-cleaned H2O is then pumped into the Richland-Chambers Reservoir for future use.
The AP notes that at $75 million, it’s far cheaper to build wetlands over traditional filtering infrastructure. (It’s also a win for the area’s wildlife which have taken habitat on the grounds.) According to the report, the George Shannon wetland has already provided about 30 percent more water to the reservoir than it would normally hold. This is only good news for the drought-stricken state and the 1.5 million local Texans that the reservoir serves.
“This is stepping back from dependence on rainfall,” David Marshall, head of engineering services for Tarrant Regional Water District, which operates the wetlands, tells the news organization. “With potential climate change or long-term droughts, we’re at risk, whereas these wetlands firm up a tremendous amount of water supply for us.”
Encouragingly, a similar wetlands project will be built at Cedar Creek Reservoir in the near future.
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DON’T MISS: A Landmark Project Brings Water Back to the Colorado River
Tag: clean water
Sandy, Summer Standouts: The Top 35 Cleanest Beaches
Summertime and Fourth of July means barbecues, family, friends and beaches for most of us. But as people prepare to hit the sand, there’s nothing worse than taking a dip in polluted water. Have no fear, though, because last week, the Natural Resources Defense Council released its annual report on beach pollution, compiling results on 3,000 beaches to create a comprehensive list of the top 35 cleanest ones.
Contamination and pollution on public beaches across the country is a consistent problem. Most of it can be contributed to rain water, which, through its course over pavement, picks up different contaminants which are then transferred to the ocean water. A further problem is the water treatment facilities that handle storm water and sewage in the same system.
The Natural Resources Defense Council’s report used information on the pollution levels of the beaches surveyed from 2009 to 2013 to rank their cleanliness as well as offer solutions to clean up dirtier waters. In order to be a superstar beach, the location had to meet the water quality standards established by the Environmental Protection Agency. First, it could not exceed the 2009-2012 national water quality level by more than two percent. Second, it could not exceed the 2013 Beach Action Value water quality by more than two percent.
All of this sounds very scientific for most of us, but it can be boiled down simply. Beach Action Value is different from water quality level because it deals solely with beach quality and just acts as a guideline for when beach health warnings should be administered. It is a not a required criteria but can be used as a tool by the states. Therefore, superstar beaches were less than two percent above the EPA’s established safe water quality values.
Of the 35 top beaches, there are some standouts whose numbers were zero percent in every category for every year. Some of those include Long Beach City in New York, Back Bay Beach in Virginia, Dauphin Island Public Beach and Beach at Cape Hatteras Lighthouse in North Carolina, among others.
So before you grab your towel and sunscreen, be sure to check to see where your favorite beach falls in the rankings. See the full list of superstars and offenders at Next City.
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Need Clean Water? Find the Nearest Evergreen
What if someone told you that a small piece of sapwood from a pine tree could be used as an effect water filter — no pumps, batteries, or chemicals needed. Would you believe them or think that the story was a giant whopper?
Well, it’s no fib, as a team at MIT did just that. To make the filter, the team stripped the bark off white pine branches and placed it into a plastic tube. The porous tissue in the branch, called xylem, naturally filtered out the contaminants in water. “Today’s filtration membranes have nanoscale pores that are not something you can manufacture in a garage very easily,” said Rohit Karnik, associate professor of mechanical engineering at MIT. “The idea here is that we don’t need to fabricate a membrane, because it’s easily available. You can just take a piece of wood and make a filter out of it.”
According to a study published in the journal PLoS One, this makeshift filter can purify up to four liters of water a day and remove up to 99 percent of E. coli. The filter has the potential to be a game-changer in water-pinched communities around the world and in emergency situations.
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The team is trying to find other types of natural filters. “There’s huge variation between plants. There could be much better plants out there that are suitable for this process,” said Karnik. “Ideally, a filter would be a thin slice of wood you could use for a few days, then throw it away and replace at almost no cost.” Maybe one day creating clean water could come be done right in your own backyard.
Can Rain Solve West Virginia’s Tap Water Problem?
West Virginia’s toxic chemical spill last month left hundreds of thousands without clean water for weeks. Although state officials declared that the tap water is once again usable, residents are understandably wary of contaminants. There’s still the bottled water option but that comes with an economic and environmental price. In, Kanawha Valley, however, some residents have come up with a cost-and-environmentally friendly solution: rainwater.
“It’s sort of primitive,” Charleston resident Lori Magana told the Charleston Daily Mail. “The rain barrel is hooked up to my downspout and it has a faucet. After many trials, I figured out the best way to take a seven-gallon jug from Walmart and carry it inside.”
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Magana’s part of the Facebook group Charleston Rain Catchers, that now has more than 200 members and counting. The group shares tips the best ways to harvest rain water, and advice like what’s the best and most affordable rain receptacles (pickle or soy sauce barrels). The wall is also updated with information on often free rainwater harvesting workshops. These West Virginians are showing that even during environmental disasters, a sustainable solution can be as easy as looking to the sky.
How States Are Hunting Down This Cosmetic Culprit of Pollution
Two of the country’s most populous states are trying to ban a very common component in face wash: microbeads. Following in the footsteps of New York, lawmakers in California recently proposed to stop the sale of cosmetics containing these tiny plastic particles.
Microbeads don’t look too intimidating, but they pack quite the environmental wallop. Because they’re so small, they can’t be removed by water treatment processes after getting washed down our sinks. As One Earth reports, these teeny environmental menaces have been showing up in our Great Lakes, with as many as 450,000 bits per square kilometer. Mistaking them for fish eggs, unsuspecting wildlife are eating these little balls, possibly bringing them into our own food chain.
As Grist reports, last month New York Assemblywoman Michelle Schimel introduced a bill that would ban sales of products containing microbeads. The initiative was taken a step further when Assemblyman Robert Sweeney, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and the nonprofit 5 Gyres introduced legislation that would not only ban the sale, but would try to stop the its manufacture and distribution.
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New York League of Conservation Voters President Marcia Bystryn said the bill would “set an example for other states around the country to address this emerging environmental threat.” Indeed, California Assemblyman Richard Bloom recently took on the cause and introduced a bill that would ban the sale of most products with microbeads.
Fortunately, cosmetic companies such as Proctor and Gamble, Unilever, and Colgate-Palmolive have already taken the initiative to phase out using microbeads in their products without legal prodding. So until your state follows the lead of New York and California, when you look for facial scrubs, avoid products that contain polyethylene or polypropylene. You can also opt for washes with oatmeal or apricot/walnut shells that work just as well. You don’t want to pollute the waterways just to clean your face.
Why It’s Time to Ditch the Water Bottle
No other country in the world uses as much bottled water as the United States, and it may be turning into a big problem for the public systems that many people (including lower-income families) rely on. Though bottled water come with some upsides, especially convenience, you have the power to solve some big problems with a little decision about how you carry your water.
Baltimore Youth Work Together for an Important Cause
Blue Water Baltimore is a non-profit organization that works with youth to provide leadership, education, and programs to help restore the quality of Baltimore’s rivers, streams and harbor. The initiative began as five separate Baltimore organizations working to improve their neighborhood water. Through a combined effort they realized they could have a larger impact and work to provide a model for collaborating on a shared vision, not only for the city of Baltimore, but on a national level. Perhaps the greater impact of the organization is that they inspire city residents to become advocates for positive action in their lives, neighborhoods, and the city as a whole. Read more about their mission.