Living Machine may come to Northwest

Oregon Educational Facility May Soon Host Northwest's First "Living Machine" Water Treatment System

by Derek Reiber, Tidepool staff writer

ASTORIA-- The Pacific Northwest's first "Living Machine" wastewater treatment system could be in operation at the Marine Environment Research and Training Station near Astoria, Oregon by as early as the year 2000, say MERTS officials.

Living Machines are biological water purification systems modeled after natural systems, utilizing microbes, algae, aquatic vegetation and solar energy to filter and breakdown nutrients, solids, bacteria and trace metals in wastewater.

Wastewater flows through a series of biological cells kept in individual tanks. The whole system is housed in a greenhouse, comprising a "fixed film" treatment system where bacteria attached to aquatic plants filter wastewater.

"Living Machines harness what nature does when treating water in natural systems, such as wetlands," said Elizabeth Van der Hoven, a representative of Living Technologies, a company based in Burlington, Vermont. "We have adapted that process and increased its efficiency for use in municipal and industrial wastewater treatment. The goal is to treat wastewater and close the loop by reusing the treated water and having a zero discharge system."

Living Technologies, begun in the early 1990s, is currently the only company designing and installing Living Machines for public and private use. The company has completed various water treatment projects around the world in places such as Brazil, Great Britain, California and New York.

The MERTS facility, located approximately three miles east of Astoria along the Columbia River, may be the next site to host a Living Machine. The educational center is unable to link up with the Astoria sewer system due to the high cost of constructing a connecting pipe, which would include a costly pump to force sewage uphill through the pipe.

MERTS is currently using a sand filter system for its wastewater treatment, but is limited in discharge options due to the facility's proximity to the Columbia River and surrounding wetlands.

"We are hamstrung in the use of our treated water, so with a Living Machine we would be limited to land use for irrigation or re-circulation as toilet flush water," said MERTS's Tony Laska.

However, it is the educational opportunity to demonstrate a new, cutting-edge technology that makes a Living Machine an attractive option for MERTS.

"These systems are great for drawing attention," Laska said. "Normally, no one has an interest in wastewater treatment. With Living Machines, people can actually see the consequences of waste and how it is treated, which can help make them more conscious of its environmental impacts."

MERTS sees a clear educational opportunity installing a Living Machine.

"We want to make the Living Machine part of the curriculum and carve out a regional niche to become an educator in wastewater treatment methods," said Laska. "We will have a chance to educate and assist communities who want to investigate using a Living Machine system."

The only roadblock to beginning the installation of a Living Machine at MERTS is funding -- once money is secured, the project can begin. The actual cost of the Living Machine itself isn't too large, but MERTS wants to add extensive educational facilities, including a lab for students, which has run the cost up to $1.6 million.

A potential Environmental Protection Agency grant appropriation of $870,000 could get the project going, with possible construction beginning within a year. "We are currently scaling the project to meet potential levels of funding," said Laska. Options include differently scaled versions of the project, such as installing the Living Machine first with the educational lab to follow at a later date.

MERTS also plans to work in conjunction with the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality to make the Living Machine a pilot study site to test out the system's success with handling different wastewater streams.

"We see a broad application of this technology to coastal communities as well as eastern Oregon food processing plants, and are delighted to find the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality a strong supporter of our role as a host site for regional demonstration and planning," said Clatsop Community College President John Wubben in a released statement. The community college hosts a variety of classes at the MERTS facility.

Much of the preliminary planning for the Living Machine was completed by Living Technologies two years ago, when the project was first proposed.

"Conceptually we are pretty far along in the design process. We have already sized the tanks and studied the data on the existing wastewater flows at MERTS," said Van der Hoven.

Living Machines are commonly designed to be site-specific, depending on factors such as climate and temperature. The selection of plants for use in a Living Machine system is important, but essentially boils down to a "trial and error" process, according to the type of wastewater, amount of flow, and other variable characteristics, said Van der Hoven. Plants with fine, widespread root masses are ideal, allowing a larger surface area for bacteria to attach and grow. A pilot project in northern Vermont has provided information to Living Technologies on what types of plants might perform well in the Pacific Northwest's dynamic climate.

The advantages of using Living Machines is not only limited to its added educational benefits. They also have a record of very high levels of treatment quality, better than or equal to conventional wastewater treatment methods.

They meet or exceed all targets for pollutants such as BOD (Biological Oxygen Demand), COD (Chemical Oxygen Demand), TSS (Total Suspended Solids) and Fecal Coliform.

"Living Machines are more resilient than conventional treatment because of the high diversity of biology housed in the system's individual biological cells," said Van der Hoven. "The different types of bacteria can handle shock loads of heavy wastewater that may kill off one set of bacteria, but another in the system may thrive on it."

For that reason, Living Machine technologies are a perfect match for food processors such as Ehtel M Chocolates in Henderson, Nev. (see graphic)

Its Living Machine treats up to 32,000 gpd (gallons per day) of production wastewater, which is about six times the strength of sewage. The operation is a zero-discharge system, with treated water used for on-site irrigation. Ehtel M Chocolate has also incorporated the Living Machine into its guided tours of the factory and surrounding cactus gardens.

On a smaller scale, Living Machines are excellent for use in small clustered housing developments, including a planned community in Scotland whose Living Machine accommodates up to 300 people. The systems also are well suited for public building sites, such as the Vermont Welcome Center. (see graphic)

The Center, located on a busy stretch of highway on the Massachusetts and Vermont State border, was unable to expand its capacity to meet increasing amounts of visitors due its limited capacity to handle wastewater as well as its isolation from nearby communities. The installed Living Machine for the center is able to handle the fluctuating usage typical of a visitor's center, which increases seasonally and on weekends. The system can handle up to 6075 gpd, and the project required just eight months to complete. The total capital cost was less than $250,000.

While Living Machines work well for larger scale applications, residential single-family homes are not a viable option because of potential problems with maintenance and retention, said Van der Hoven. Living Machines work better on a larger size to take advantage of economies of scale, where they compete well in terms of cost with conventional systems.

"When it comes down to just cost, it is a wash," she said. It appears that presently, what is making Living Machines attractive to potential users are the added benefits - education of the public, enhancement of the environment and treating water effectively and safely.

-Derek Reiber is Tidepool's First Intern for GIS- Enhanced Environmental Reporting Go to: Tidepool s

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