BATH & OBERLIN, OHIO
This semester, I found myself sitting in a class I didn’t know a thing about. My professor asked the class why we registered to take it. The answer was obvious: I took it because it was required, and I liked the time slot. But she wanted a better reason.
Truth is, I didn’t know what the class was going to be about. I began to figure it out when other students talked about their love for the environment. I have never been into the environment. I recycle only when my mom’s looking. I have never been cautious with my water use. As students continued to answer with environmental responses, I was trying to figure out how I was going to survive the semester. Here I was enrolled in a journalism immersive learning course called BlueHouses = Clean Water.
I decided to push through and midway through the semester, my professor asked me if I’d be interested in traveling to Old Trail School in Bath, Ohio, and Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio, to report on the living machines that both schools have. Living machines use ecosystems filled with plants and beneficial bacteria to treat wastewater. The treated water can then be reused for nonpotable uses like irrigation and toilet flushing. Most of the United States uses drinkable water for functions that don’t require drinkable water.
I was skeptical to make the trip. I’m a broke college student. I can’t afford to drive 10 hours roundtrip, pay for food and a hotel. But as it turned out, my professor had secured an internal grant from the College of Communication, Information and Media and was willing to allocate part of the funds to help me finance the trip, so I agreed.
My professor also said that my visit would build on other Ball State journalism and public relations students’ visits to similar structures called BlueHouses outside of Budapest, Hungary, during the spring of 2012.
I arrived at Old Trail School early one April morning as the school buses rolled up to the entrance to drop off students. The school, preschool through eighth grade, is nestled in Cuyahoga Valley National Park. When I entered through the school’s doorway, Old Trail School’s Director of Facilities Bob Morgan greeted me. He took me to the school’s living machine, which was located outside, down a small hill from the school’s playground.
We entered the living machine through the glass doors of the greenhouse-like structure, and I was immediately impressed by what I saw – a lush, green garden, filled with plants of all different types.
Just a week earlier, Morgan went through the garden and cut back the plants because they had outgrown the garden. All plant materials are composted. The living machine’s treated water is used to feed the plants, and they thrive on it. Three tables sat inside the greenhouse. The school uses it as a classroom and science lab for students there. The greenhouse has two ponds – one filled with fresh water and another with treated water from the living machine.
Shelves that hold students’ projects cover the greenhouse’s walls. Some of the projects were interactive models of the living machine. Others were experiments measuring the growth of plants under municipal tap water and the living machine’s treated water.
The smell of the living machine caught my attention, too, or the lack of smell. I was expecting an unbearable stench, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. The living machine smelled like plants and dirt, the smell of any garden.Morgan took me outside to show me the septic tanks and filters, which are underground and right next to the greenhouse. When the lids came off, the smell hit hard, but quickly disappeared when the lids were put back.
While Old Trail uses the water to feed its plants, not all the water is reused. Most of the water is discharged into nature. The Environmental Protection Agency keeps a close eye on the discharged water because Old Trail is located in a national park.
Old Trail School also has a company inspect the living machine and test the water it discharges. The company comes three times a week and must stay for 30 minutes. Since the living machine’s construction in 2009, no problems have occurred with the water discharged into the national park, said Morgan who was hired in the summer of 2012.
Following my trip to Old Trail School, I hit the road to meet with Oberlin College’s A.J. Lewis Center Facilities Manager Sean Hayes. The center, which features one of the first living machines built in the U.S., was named the most important green building to be built in the last 30 years by Architect Magazine.
As I walked toward the building, I noticed the living machine was built into the building like any other room. Most of the building’s walls are windows, so the living machine’s greenhouse-like structure fit with the building.
Oberlin’s living machine is different from Old Trail’s because the water treatment part of the structure is mostly above ground, whereas Old Trail’s is underground. Oberlin’s living machine is also a first generation living machine, meaning it’s one of the first models. Old Trail’s living machine is a fourth generation and one of the newest.
The Oberlin living machine smelled like plants and dirt, too. It will smell like flowers come spring when the flowers bloom. Although living machines can keep flowers growing all year, Hayes tries to make the temperature in the greenhouse as similar to nature as possible. In the winter, he drops the temperature down to just above freezing to give the plants a more natural climate. He’s careful to not drop the temperature below freezing because that would freeze the living machine.
Oberlin’s living machine also serves as a living-learning lab for undergraduate students. Hayes assists a group of employed undergraduate students to run the living machine. Students often do independent studies on the living machine, as well. The experiences the living machine provides helps students pursue careers in numerous fields, Hayes said.
Oberlin’s living machine reuses the water in the building’s toilets. The water in the toilet is odorless, but it’s yellow. The plants naturally turn the water yellow as it goes through the living machine. The water could be turned clear, but Hayes believes the process should be natural and without the use of chemicals.
As I looked at the living machine and listened to Hayes, it made me wonder why Ball State isn’t investing in a living machine. Ball State President Jo Ann Gora signed the American
College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment in 2006. By signing the climate commitment, President Gora obligated the university to become climate neutral by 2050.
Since the signing, Ball State has established itself as a leader in geothermal projects. It is building the largest geothermal project in the country, which, in turn, means the university will shut down the four coal boilers that power the campus as of March 14, 2014. But Ball State also should look to become a leader in water conservation. The geothermal project could be viewed as the first step toward major reduction in water use because geothermal uses much less water than coal-fired power plants.
With residence hall Johnson Complex A set for renovation on May 6, Ball State could take advantage of living machine technology and attach one to the building. The nonpotable water could be reused in the toilets. Ball State also could use the treated water for irrigation or discharged into the Duck Pond to make it cleaner.
A U.S. water reuse company that builds and operates living machines and BlueHouse treatment facilities is Sustainable Water. Ball State journalism and public relations students who traveled to Budapest, Hungary, during spring break 2012 met with the president of from Sustainable Water. He took the students on a tour of two BlueHouses and Organica Water’s BlueHouse research facility and headquarters.
BlueHouses are similar to living machines because they both use ecosystems to treat wastewater. However, BlueHouses use hydroponic systems to aerate the water, while living machines use tidal flow wetlands. Although living machines are more energy efficient, BlueHouses are capable of treating more water and leave a smaller carbon footprint.
Other companies build living machines in the U.S., but Sustainable Water stands out because it offers universities a water purchasing agreement to make the BlueHouses more affordable. The financial agreement would allow Sustainable Water to build and operate a BlueHouse on Ball State’s campus without upfront capital from the university. Ball State would pay Sustainable Water back through the savings made off the BlueHouse.
I also learned from my instructor that the university has taken steps to determine if a state university could build such a structure on campus. The answer was yes. A contract to do a feasibility study is in the hands of Ball State administrators. To move forward, though, Ball State’s administration must approve and sign the contract. I hope I see a living machine or BlueHouse on Ball State’s campus.
Not only would that make Ball State a leader in water conservation, it would also become an immersive learning opportunity for the university’s students. Undergraduate and graduate students would be able to operate the living machine as they do at Oberlin.
Professors and students could use the living machine as a living-learning lab that would provide educational experiences that are rare in university curricula. The move would reinforce Ball State’s role for providing its students with immersive learning opportunities and help it in its sustainability commitment to be carbon neutral by 2050.
A firsthand account: What's a living machine?
By Drake D'Ambra
Living Machines
By Drake D'Ambra
The Great Lakes, the largest surface freshwater system in the world, are shrinking. Lake Michigan and Lake Huron are at the shallowest levels recorded, and Lake Superior, Erie and Ontario are below average, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
The Mississippi River reached its lowest water level in the summer of 2012, due in part to a drought, according to AccuWeather.
Although water covers about 70 percent of the Earth’s surface, only 1 percent of the Earth’s water is drinkable, according to U.S. Geological Survey.
The treatment, conservation and reuse of water is a growing concern for U.S. in a number of regions throughout the United States.
One of the solutions to help protect water is living machines, which is an ecologically engineered wastewater treatment plant.
Living machines use plants, algae and bacteria to break down wastewater that comes from toilets, showers and faucets.
Schools and companies are building these wastewater plants to treat and reuse wastewater and become more environmentally friendly.
Old Trail School, preschool through eighth grade, in Bath, Ohio, built a fourth generation living machine in 2009.
The school’s old septic system was outdated and the school needed to come up with a solution.
Old Trail School had to be careful in finding a replacement because it’s located in Cuyahoga Valley National Park.
“We wanted to do something that was environmentally friendly, too,” said John Farber, head of the school.
Farber identified the living machine as a viable option but had to get the Environmental Protection Agency to agree. The living machine would be a discharge system, which would release excess treated water into the EPA protected national park’s Cuyahoga River.
“The EPA was on board with it from day one,” said Bob Morgan, the director of facilities at Old Trail School. “They were impressed that we would actually take on a project like this. It’s over and above what we needed to do.”
The school does reuse some of the treated wastewater to water plants inside the living machine’s greenhouse. The school also uses the greenhouse as a lab and classroom for its students.
To ensure that Old Trail School isn’t discharging hazardous water into the river, the EPA requires that an outside organization monitor the living machine.
A representative from Ake Environmental & Construction Services Inc. comes and inspects the living machine three times per week. No problems have been reported since the living machine was constructed, Morgan said.
“We wanted to do our part to keep [the Cuyahoga River] as clean as possible,” Farber said. “I’m proud to say that we’re exceeding the EPA’s requirements.”
Other schools are adding living machines to their campuses for educational benefits.
Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio, built a first generation living machine in 2000.
“We wanted to internalize treatment of wastewater as an educational tool and as proof of a concept that you can use biology, not chemicals, to treat wastewater and recycle it internally,” said Sean Hayes, facilities manager and community outreach coordinator at Oberlin’s Adam Joseph Lewis Center for Environmental Studies.
The living machine treats wastewater from toilets and sinks in the school’s environmental studies center. The treated water is used to flush the building’s toilets. The process removes the use of drinking water from being used to flush waste.
The recycled water in the toilets is yellow and odorless. As the wastewater goes through the living machine, the plants naturally turn the water yellow. The water could be turned clear with chemicals, but Hayes said the process should be natural.
Oberlin’s campus is capable of using the treated water for irrigation, but the school doesn’t utilize the option because not enough students are on campus during the summer to make it feasible.
The living machine is used as a lab to give students real-life experience operating the living machine. Oberlin employs about a dozen students to monitor, test and operate the living machine.
“Students do standard water quality assessments and lab assessments on a constant basis,” Hayes said. “[The quality of the water] is better than what most of the world drinks.”
Students also undertake independent studies and research opportunities.
Since the Oberlin added its living machine, Architect Magazine named it the most important green building constructed in the last 30 years. The New York Times said it was “the most remarkable” of a new generation of environmentally responsible buildings.
One drawback to Oberlin’s living machine is the cost associated with building it.
“This living machine is never going to make economic sense for us, Hayes said. “We did this as an education tool, as a proof of concept, but this will have no economic payback for us,”
Although Oberlin’s living machine wasn’t economically friendly, Old Trail School’s living machine made economic sense.
“I would say over the last three years, it’s probably break even,” said Old Trail School’s Farber. “I think moving ahead it’s going to be less expensive.”
Living machines might not be a household name yet, but they are gaining in popularity. More than 25 living machines have been built around the world, including early generations at Ohio State University and Penn State University. One of the latest generations of a living machine is in operation at Furman University in Greenville, S.C.
Jim Davis, the creator of the “Garfield” cartoon strip, built in the early 1980s a solar aquatic system, a precursor to the living machine, to handle sewage water from his estate that includes his home and studio, Paws Inc., which are located northeast of Muncie, Ind.