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Brentwood Press - OakleyPress_07.18.08 - Index

JULY 18, 2008 COMMUNITY THEPRESS.NET | 15A
Wetlands a possible pollution solution
by Ruth Roberts
Staff Writer
Testing on an experimental wetlands
project – located at sewer plant number one
in the southwest corner of Discovery Bay
– is set to begin later this year. If successful,
the project has the potential to create not
only an eco-friendly alternative to removing
pollutants from the town’s wastewater,
but could serve as environmental model for
future generations looking for surrogate solutions.
Sitting on approximately two acres of
previously unused dry sludge ponds – empty
since the late l980s – the emerging wetlands
have transformed the property into
a peaceful oasis of cattails and bulrushes;
an independent eco-system now home to
frogs, snails and an assortment of birds and
wildlife.
Town Manager Virgil Koehne, who
implemented the project late last year with
the support of the Community Services
District Board, sensed that the empty parcels
might one day serve a higher purpose.
“I thought, ‘What a waste of space,’”
said Koehne. “And I immediately began
thinking about how we might be able to
make this area work environmentally; hence
the wetlands.”
And the goal? To determine if pollutants
such as copper, aluminum and pharmaceutical
products can be biologically
removed from the wastewater as it fl ows
through the facility; drawn to the roots of
the weeds, their toxins effectively absorbed
as they pass through a naturally occurring
carbon layer. About 20,000 gallons per day
of partially treated wastewater go through
the wetlands and are then returned to the
treatment plant for fi nal processing.
In layman’s terms, the pollutants get
sucked out of the water, absorbed into the
plants and are then either physically disposed
of or allowed to decay naturally.
Armed with those objectives, a smattering
of information and a lot of questions,
Koehne contacted the civil and environmental
engineering department at UC
Berkeley to offer up a living classroom to
the students and faculty in exchange for
some expertise and advice.
Professor David Sedlak was thrilled by
the invitation. “This has been a topic I’ve
been interested in for over a decade, and
I’ve been particularly interested in fi nding
alternatives that are not particularly energy
heavy,” said Sedlak. “So when Virgil got in
touch with us with his interest in Discovery
Bay, we got very excited. It’s great to be
helping someone who really wants to solve
a problem and not just leave it for someone
else to worry about.
“It just seemed like a great deal for them
and a great deal for us,” agreed Koehne,
who with the Berkeley students, eventually
planted thousands of cattails and bulrushes
along the property, and then sat back while
nature took its course.
While the project appears simple on the
surface, there remain myriad unknowns, including
such matters as operational procedures,
accountability and ultimate effectiveness.
But much also depends, said Koehne,
on the California State Water Board, which
dictates the safe levels of pollutants in water
throughout the state.
“Whether this process will remove
enough of the pollutants, we don’t know,”
said Koehne. “But if it doesn’t, then we will
have to fi nd other ways to do it, and then
rework and re-establish things. It’s all still in
the initial stages.”
Over the next few weeks, solar sensors
and probes, acting in place of electric
conduits, will be installed at various points
throughout the wetlands. The probes will
monitor and check the water for temperature,
levels of oxygen and salinity, as well
as pH levels and clarity. The information
will then be sent to a company in Texas,
and from there, Koehne and the Berkeley
students and staff can log on for instant
results.
Koehne estimates that the wetlands
project over the course of two years will
cost in the neighborhood of $300,000; potentially
millions of dollars less than more
traditional methods.
“How much we are able to remove
and control with this method remains to be
Photo by Ruth Roberts
These experimental wetlands might
one day replace traditional methods
of removing pollutants from wastewater.
Here, Town Manager Virgil
Koehne measures the depth of the
water in one of the wetland areas.
seen,” Koehne said. “However, in the end,
I truly believe the wetlands will be better,
and I also believe it’s important to be a part
of the green movement. Will all eyes be on
Discovery Bay if this is successful? Could
be. We’ll see how it goes.”
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