PROBLEM STATEMENT
The ponds at Sweet Springs Nature Preserve (located in Los Osos, CA) have become increasingly anaerobic over the years due to a large amount of overhanging eucalyptus debris that fall and decompose in the water. As a result, survival has become increasingly challenging for inhabiting organisms at all levels of the food chain. Of particular concern is the welfare of resident southwestern pond turtles, which have been classified as a species of special concern by the California Department of Fish and Game. Additionally, it is suspected that effluent from the septic systems of surrounding developments have been finding its way into the pond, resulting in high levels of nitrates in the water.
OBJECTIVES
The objective of this project, per Morro Coast Audubon Society's request, is to design and construct a device to help remove pollutants and anaerobic conditions from the ponds at Sweet Springs Nature Preserve through the use of ecological engineering technology and bioremediation techniques that mimic the functions of natural tidal wetlands. To better align with the objective of the course, designs will also merit consideration to the possibility of treating waste water in impoverished nations.
LITERATURE REVIEW
As communities around the world continues to industrialize, nutrient pollution caused by excessive nitrogen and phosphorus in the air and water will become one of the most challenging environmental problems we will be forced to address. While they are naturally occurring in our ecosystems (and necessary in certain quantities), an overabundance in water sources can cause algae blooms, which have the potential to “harm water quality, food resources and habitats, and decrease the oxygen that fish and other aquatic life need to survive.” (United States Environmental Protection Agency, 2012). The ponds at Sweet Springs Nature preserve suffer from similar conditions due to stormwater discharge and effluent from the septic systems of surrounding developments.
To address this problem, Morro Coast Audubon Society has been searching for a solution that utilizes ecological engineering techniques, which can be used to clean contaminated water by mimicking the function of natural tidal wetlands. In recent years, ecological wastewater treatment technologies has been gaining popularity as an alternative to conventional treatment methods. Using the driving force of natural processes, “ecological engineering combines basic and applied sciences from engineering ecology, economics, and natural sciences for the restoration and construction of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems.” (Howard T. Odum Center for Wetlands).
One of the pioneers of ecological design, John Todd, have developed such ecosystems called “living machines”, which are developed to “restore, conserve, or remediate sewage or other polluted water, by replicating and accelerating the natural purification processes of streams, pond, and marshes.” (Wikipedia, 2011). In its most practical form and application, living machines are "self-contained treatment systems designed to treat specific waste streams through the use of diverse communities of bacteria and other microorganisms, algae, plants, trees, snails, fish, and other living creatures." (Wikipedia, 2011). The works of John Todd and his colleagues are the foundation upon which our water treatment device will be built.
References
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Howard T. Odum Center for Wetlands. (n.d.). Ecological Engineering. Retrieved February 01, 2012, from Howard T. Odum Center for Wetlands at the University of Florida: http://www.cfw.ufl.edu/ecological_engineering.asp
Todd, J., & Josephson, B. (1996). Th Design of Living Technologies for Waste Treatment. Ecological Engineering , 109-136.
United States Environmental Protection Agency. (2012). Nutrient Pollution. Retrieved January 20, 2012, from United States Environmental Protection Agency: http://epa.gov/nutrientpollution/problem/index.html
Wikipedia. (2011, October 03). John Todd. Retrieved January 25, 2012, from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Todd_%28biologist%29
To address this problem, Morro Coast Audubon Society has been searching for a solution that utilizes ecological engineering techniques, which can be used to clean contaminated water by mimicking the function of natural tidal wetlands. In recent years, ecological wastewater treatment technologies has been gaining popularity as an alternative to conventional treatment methods. Using the driving force of natural processes, “ecological engineering combines basic and applied sciences from engineering ecology, economics, and natural sciences for the restoration and construction of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems.” (Howard T. Odum Center for Wetlands).
One of the pioneers of ecological design, John Todd, have developed such ecosystems called “living machines”, which are developed to “restore, conserve, or remediate sewage or other polluted water, by replicating and accelerating the natural purification processes of streams, pond, and marshes.” (Wikipedia, 2011). In its most practical form and application, living machines are "self-contained treatment systems designed to treat specific waste streams through the use of diverse communities of bacteria and other microorganisms, algae, plants, trees, snails, fish, and other living creatures." (Wikipedia, 2011). The works of John Todd and his colleagues are the foundation upon which our water treatment device will be built.
References
--------------------------------------------
Howard T. Odum Center for Wetlands. (n.d.). Ecological Engineering. Retrieved February 01, 2012, from Howard T. Odum Center for Wetlands at the University of Florida: http://www.cfw.ufl.edu/ecological_engineering.asp
Todd, J., & Josephson, B. (1996). Th Design of Living Technologies for Waste Treatment. Ecological Engineering , 109-136.
United States Environmental Protection Agency. (2012). Nutrient Pollution. Retrieved January 20, 2012, from United States Environmental Protection Agency: http://epa.gov/nutrientpollution/problem/index.html
Wikipedia. (2011, October 03). John Todd. Retrieved January 25, 2012, from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Todd_%28biologist%29