Newspapers / The Guilfordian (Greensboro, N.C.) / Feb. 4, 1994, edition 1 / Page 7
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ifetnruarp 4,1994 Our Backyard Daphne Lewis Photo Editor 'The solution to pollution is dilu tion" was a slogan proudly heralded in a past presidential administration many years ago. Thank god we know better than that now. Or do we? Over Christmas break, I visited the sewage treatment facility in my home town, Tuscaloosa, Alabama I was greeted by a country-boy op erator and the reek of raw sewage. "Welcome to our Waaayste Treeeatmunt Fuuciiiilit-ee," the opera tor, Brian, told me in his slow, south em drawl. The first stop on the grand tour was the pre treatment facility where the solid wastes are separated from the liq uid wastes. Then both the effluent (the liquid wastes), and the sludge (the solid wastes), are given secondary treatment in separate facilities. There, the sewage is left to "eat" it self up. That means that the sewage is dumped into large tanks, called the "aeration basin," and are pumped with oxygen to encourage natural break down of the sewage. But no chemi cals are added, and no further treat ment is given. Then the liquid wastes are piped to an outfall twelve miles up the Black Warner River-a place where I swam as a child. I looked at the bubbling milky effluent gurgling out of the ba sin, beginning its journey to the river, and it was sickening. I knew it had to flow downstream and that, although it was diluted in the river, it was not gone. Recreational facilities, docks, wildlife, and some other cities' water supplies were all downstream. A senior operator at the plant, Mike Snow, told me that it takes approxi The Inauirine Photographer Daphne Lewis Photo Editor Q Do yow think justice served the Bob case? mately three hours for sewage to go through the treatment process and be gin its journey to the river. Only three hours. I am skeptical about how much that really treats the sewage. Pumping it in and slushing it around for three hours and then spitting it out to the river doesn't seem like that much "treat ment" to me. To my surprise, Mike even later admitted to me that, "Basically, we're just a big septic tank-we just separate the effluent from the sludge and pump it out to the river." In old cities all over the U.S., the sewage and storm water drain pipes are connected, so that whenever there is a hard rain, it creates too much sew age for the treatment facilities to treat They are forced to "open the gates" and let the raw effluent flow into the river, lake, stream, ocean untreated in its raw, natural form. Living here in the south, we know that such is not uncommon. Can you count the days in spring and summer that it rains a good deal of the day? One of the rainiest cities in the nation, Mobile, Alabama, has a major prob lem with this due to inadequate sew age treatment. Whenever it rains hard (which is very often), they open the gates and let the effluent flow into Mo bile Bay, which just happens to be a major shrimp and shellfish (especially oysters) breeding and cultivation area Ever heard of cholera? Well, these little shellfish are filter feeders. They suck in all the water around them-they are not picky-and filter whatever is in it, you know-salt, nutrients, plankton, HEAVY MET ALS, RAW EFFLUENT. They retain and store what they filter at no harm to themselves, but death and sickness to the humans who eat them But Mike assured me that on these M mjH| iMmmm "He should be punished for raping her. But it was no reason for her to do what she did." -Hugh Nesbit, first-year iJergpectitetf days, "It doesn'thint anything to pump it out into the river because there is so much dilution in the water." Yeah, right Mike. Mike's supervisor, Maurice Sledge, told me that on those days "Our only solution to pollution is dilution." But there are other solutions, Maurice. Several magazines Maurice gave to me described an alternative treatment method that is more efficient and less expensive. Why is Tuscaloosa not using that? Especially here in the South where the weather is warm year-round, an ideal new method of treatment is avail able. The "microbial rock-reed filter" (or "man-made" wetlands) takes its de sign from nature herself-mimicking the structure of natural wetlands, uti lizing water-absorbing plants to purify the water in a series of ponds. These systems are inexpensive, ef ficient and produce crystal-clear wa ter that is suitable to drink. The sewage that goes into the sec ondary treatment pond is allowed to settle and aerate for three months, ample time for bacteria to eat and break down pollutants. Remember the three hours at the Tuscaloosa plant? Then the water is drawn by gravity into a rock-reed filter, a gravel bed that contains many nutrient-absorbing plants such as African Calla lilies and water irises. These plants rapidly ab sorb the water and release it into the air through evapotranspiration. For about a month, bacteria and microbes in the water attach to plant roots to fur ther break down pollutants. Thus this eliminates the sludge and heavy met als that have to be hauled off to land fills in conventional treatment facili ties. And the design of the large ponds allows for the excessive amounts of \ ' $ Photos by Daphne Lewis "I think she was rightly served, but he should have been punished. To get justice, she had to take it into her own hands." -Calyta Hill, first-year wqfs top 26 Compiled by Alex Millkey, Kirstie Pendergrast, and Louisa Spavetita ©sound 1. No Alternative Comp. 2. Ani DiFranco 3. Green Day 4. Teen Beat 50 Comp. 5. Majesty Crush 6. Babe the Blue Ox 7. US3 8. Eric's Trip 9. God is my Co-pilot 10. Teenage Fanclub 11. The Hair & Skin Trading Co. 12. James 13. Philistines Jr. 14. Bikini Kill 15. Bridget 16. Chainsaw Kittens 17. Mephisto Waltz 18. The Dave Mathews Band 19. Boredoms 20. Naked City 21. Chairman of the Board Comp. 22. Les Thugs 23. Verve 24. The Vacant Lot 25. Huggy Bear )()> : 26. Swivelneck sewage taken in on rainy days. These constructed wetlands origi nated at Disneyworld, where the treat ment facility stretches over I,2ooacres and doubles as a wildlife refuge and recreational area. The man-made wet lands clean up the water supply and add to the nation's wetland reserves. This new technology addresses and conquers all the problems that the common Tuscaloosa system has. Tuscaloosa is in the process ofbuild- "I think the wife is guilty, because even if her husband acted in bad behavior, it is not necessary, what she did." -Mayumi Ebina, interlink )t &utltorbtan AMbannim Like I said Dookie Love 15 Je m'appelle Babe Hand on the Torch Love Tara Straight Not Thirteen Over Valence Laid Tarquin Pussy Whipped Light this Candle Angel on the Range Terra Regina Remember Two Things Wow 2 Radio As Happy as Possible Blue Wrong Taking the Rough w/ the Smooch Contactor ing a new wastewater treatment plant, but the microbial rock-reed filter is not in the future. Instead, they are just add ing a chlorination step. But that does not remedy the prob lem. What about rainy days? No, Maurice. The solution to pol lution is not dilution. You can cut it down, split it up, or saturate it with water so it doesn't smell like sewage, or lode like sewage. But it is still there. It just doesn't float away. "Before you judge, you might look at it from another perspective. If a man had chopped a woman's clitoris off, would the public's opinion change, in this case?" -Nate Davis, junioi 7
The Guilfordian (Greensboro, N.C.)
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Feb. 4, 1994, edition 1
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