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| Definition
of an opportunity |
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| One of the challenges and expenses
of treating storm water runoff is dealing with toxins, heavy metals,
pet waste and other pollutants that make their way into this water.
Traditionally these have been dredged out of the fore bay ponds in
water treatment facilities where they accumulates as sediment. The
purpose of this paper is to explore ways of treating this kind of
runoff at a smaller scale - through leaf compost filters - before
this kind of expensive dredging is necessary. The use of compost "gabions"
with storm water filtering downhill through them before it flows into
water quality ponds is an idea that seems intriguing. The assumption
is that the necessary filtering can be done with cartridges of leaf
compost or peat, and that this "compost", in turn, can be
dealt with naturally. |
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| The Significance of Bioremediation |
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In addition, the
link between leaf compost and bioremediation will be explored. Bioremediation
is a process by which naturally occurring bacteria consume or convert
pollutants into a harmless product. This process was used locally
by landscape architect Richard Haag as a scheme to address Benzene
pollution in the contaminated fill at Gasworks Park. It turns out
that a common soil born bacteria have a hunger for oil residue, one
of the major components of "first flush" pollution. Bacteria
have been found that will degrade many common pollutants, even severely
poisonous compounds like Cyanide. Even if a pollutant cannot be consumed,
it is safer to suspend it in a humus rich environment with an abundance
of natural bacteria. Even if bioremediation cannot be monitored
scientifically, a system that encourages excellent soil structure
and healthy populations of bacteria is more supportive to site drainage
and the greater environment. The method was used by Richard Haag
in the mid seventies to deal with toxic soils at Gasworks Park in
Seattle. Great amounts of organic matter were incorporated into the
soil to encourage a healthy environment for oil eating bacteria. The
results were controversial, but there is no doubt that Haag produced
a lively soil community - as suggested by the presence of healthy
earthworm castings at Gasworks in fall 2001 (Interview on site, fall
2001). Earthworms are particularly sensitive to pollution.
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"A spoonful of healthy soil contains
many millions of beneficial microscopic organisms of various
kinds that include beneficial species of bacteria, fungi, nematodes
and protozoa that never cause disease or become pests. These
are helpful species that perform vital "functions"
in the root zone that can bring real profits to growers IF soil
conditions are managed in ways that allow the microbes to live
and work."
soilfoodweb.com
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