Fresh water is a precious and limited resource in the Caribbean. In imaging a model “eco-resort,” Sir Richard Branson needed a system that could not only make the best use of existing waters, but would be highly energy efficient and fit into this tropical paradise.
In their search for alternatives to their failing septic/ leach field system, the Omega Center for Sustainable Living in Rhinebeck, NY, sought a solution that would be non-toxic, model cutting-edge sustainable design, and serve to educate the general public on environmentally responsible means of managing resources.
Corkscrew Swamp, one of North America’s last remaining old growth cypress swamps, is a magnificent natural attraction. By 1994 attendance surpassed 100,000 visitors a year. The increase in visitors overwhelmed the sanctuary facilities and the inability to handle wastewater from the rest room facilities was an immediate, intolerable, and costly problem
Fuzhou, China, empties its commercial wastewater and sewage into a network of canals throughout the city before emptying into the Minjiang River. Baima, a canal considered one of the worst in the city, had extreme problems with odor and floating solids created by the influx of 750,000 gallons per day of untreated domestic sewage.