New Bioreactor Garden data from Palau!
Can you find the bioreactor garden in this picture?
Thriving Bioreactor Garden
The bioreactor garden we established here in Palau a few months ago is thriving! The plant cover has grown well with the natural nutrient inputs.
What a difference a few months makes!
The plant cover growing from the upper layer of the bioreactor garden system quickly flourished.
The plants integrated into the nature-based system design draw off nutrients and water volume, working in tandem with the active biological processes occurring within the system structures.
What's a Bioreactor Garden?
The Bioreactor Garden is a nature-based treatment practice that purifies the nutrient and pollutant loaded wastewater resulting from traditional septic systems. This green infrastructure produces safe groundwater.
A Bioreactor Garden is a green infrastructure system added in-line to standard septic wastewater treatment. Bioreactor Garden systems use nature-based processes, treating wastewater to a very high standard. These natural processes mimic the actions of wetland filtration in a concentrated system. The contained system efficiently removes the contaminants and excess nutrients that cause problems in watersheds, pressuring ecosystem and community health.
By filtering system effluent through layers including activated biochar, beneficial bacteria, woodchips made from invasive species (feeding two birds with one seed!), and other filtration media, a Bioreactor Garden system concentrates nutrient removal from the water.
Water output from Septic System (left), Bioreactor Garden (right).
Bioreactor Garden systems are far more effective than traditional gray infrastructure septic systems, rendering the output water clean and safe to enter local groundwater. Three cheers for Mother Nature and nature-based systems!
Comparing Bioreactor Gardens vs. Septic-Only Systems: Green Infrastructure is a Clear Winner!
These data were collected using photometry for nutrient levels and a field fluorometer to measure chlorophyll a and optical brighteners. The difference between the systems is clear!
Nature based wastewater systems produce much less overall volume, as the plants absorb much of the water. The output is also much cleaner than results from a septic-only system.
Protected Groundwater
The monitoring station downstream measuring groundwater effects found that the Bioreactor Garden is effectively protecting groundwater quality.
The implications for these nature-based systems to protect water quality in ecosystems and communities around the world are great!
Join the conversation on LinkedIn at the Nature-Based Wastewater Solutions group: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/12918717/