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Sewage solutions should be creative

Thursday, November 07, 2002

By Don Hopey, Post-Gazette Staff Writer

With Allegheny County trying to figure out how to stop raw sewage from overflowing into rivers and creeks after every storm while also trimming a $4 billion fix-it bill, maybe it's time to start thinking about solutions outside the pipe.

At least that's the position of John Todd, president of the nonprofit Ocean Arks International, who favors ecological solutions over big sewage treatment projects to address the problem.

"There's a way to deal with the sewage hot spots creatively and get out of the big box response mode," Todd said. "It may be hard to get support for a lot of smaller, less traditional projects but they may be very doable and overall less expensive."

Todd, who will discuss a "comprehensive approach to water quality management" at a free talk at Duquesne University's Bayer Learning Center this evening, said the size of the region's sewage problems is a big challenge.

"Allegheny County will need a combination of a number of different technologies that could include separation of storm and sanitary sewers and installation of satellite treatment facilities along with neighborhood reuse and recycling of storm water," Todd said. "It may be possible to separate the solution into two big projects and a hundred smaller ones."

Todd, who was named a "Hero for The Planet" by Time magazine in 2000, also will explain the design of his "Living Machines," which use live plants, animals and naturally occurring bacteria instead of chemicals to degrade nutrients, separate out heavy metals and break down toxic compounds found in sewage.

Instead of channeling all storm and sewage water to a central treatment facility, his approach recycles much of the water in neighborhoods for use on lawns and gardens or redirects it into streams and marshes.

Such systems are in use or under construction in eight countries, including Scotland, England, India, Canada and Australia.

"There are benefits to my approach in terms of aesthetic and landscape design, and economic elements can be built into the systems too," Todd said.

Todd's speech, part of Sustainable Pittsburgh's "Champions of Sustainability" public forum series, begins at 6 p.m. tomorrow. Admission is free, with a reception following the talk. To register, call 412-258-6642 or e-mail info@sustainablepittsburgh.org.

Don Hopey can be reached at dhopey@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1983.