- Advanced Tertiary Treatment for Industrial Use
- Environmental Showcase of Ecological Water and Wastewater Management
Project Profiles:
Plant-based system for industrial use
When New England BioLabs, a biological materials manufacturer, planned its new corporate campus, town officials required the facility to manage its own wastewater with an advanced system due to the unknown nature of the company’s effluents. NEB’s owner desired a system in keeping with his passion for plants that would fit in with the attractive buildings on the company’s campus. NEB contracted EEG to engineer a Solar Aquatics System to treat its wastewater.
Garden grows away wastewater for historic home
The Old Manse, a historic 19th century residence building that was once home to American authors Ralph Waldo Emerson and Nathanial Hawthorne. It is owned by the Society for the Protection of New England Antiquities (SPNEA). When the Old ManseÕs gift shop and offices were expanded, an upgrade was required to the existing septic system. Due to the siteÕs archaeological features and its proximity to the Concord River, an advanced wastewater system was required by the local board of health.
SPNEA hired Sustainable Strategies, a subsidiary of the Ecological Engineering Group (EEG), to design and permit a wastewater garden treatment system. EEG designed and permitted a system that treats blackwater and graywater separately. The system includes a one-pint flush toilet which flushes to an EcoTech Carousel composting toilet system. Graywater and composting toilet Leachate are pressure dosed to a wastewater garden treatment system which provides liquid and nutrient removal prior to subsurface discharge. SPNEA was able to maintain aesthetic characteristics of the Old Manse surroundings by planting the washwater garden as a 19th century period garden adjacent to the Old Manse structure, and includes the garden as a part of public tours.
Unique System Features
• System serves as a theme garden which also provides treatment
• A composting toilet system is used with design similar to a conventional toilet
• The majority of wastewater effluent flow is used by the garden plants
• Extremely low blackwater flow eliminates need for septic tank
[Click here to download an information sheet]
Environmental center walks its talk
The Newark Conservatory sought to show visitors to its new facility best practices for managing wastewater. The Conservatory contracted EEG to create a variety of systems, such as rainwater collection, a small Solar Aquatics System, and a GreenWall planted wall system to use up effluents.