Water and Sewage: Solar Aquatic Systems

With increasing knowledge that clean water may be a finite resource if we continue our manner of consumption, water conservation and reclamation technologies/techniques are at a scientific premium. Water use must become increasingly sustainable if we expect to move towards a future in which water rationing is not the only option. One such sustainable method for water reclamation are solar aquatic systems (SAS). SAS are a biological approach to reclaiming and purifying water from sewage and sludge. By using plants and microorganisms in a greenhouse setting SAS can filter out and consume contaminants. This process mimics that of natural wetlands for processing waste, however SAS is a much more compact and efficient device for removing contaminants from sludge than wetlands.


SAS in action, compact and efficient

It is important to note that the use of wetlands to mitigate and purify sewage and sludge requires large areas of land, in order to fully replicate the natural properties of a wetland. In constructing these reclamation wetlands we are taking away from land that could be used for other purposes, as well as bringing in the tools, materials, and labor to construct a man made wetland. In that respect SAS is more sustainable because it creates less of an ecological footprint once put into action, since it can be more compact than a wetland the inputs for constructing a SAS are much less than a wetland. Using a natural wetland for mitigation however, would have much less of a ecological impact, however, natural wetlands are hard to come by in many areas, and in areas in which there are no natural wetlands the construction of one requires far more resources than putting in SAS.

A man-made wetland, note the area used to create this wetland, and how it most likely required the clear cutting of the forest it is in the middle of to make room for it.