2003: WWI Update: Mexico and Waste Water Recyclingater
There is good news to report in the midst of one of the worst snowstorms the East Coast has witnessed in years (the "Beast in the East" as CNN calls it).
We actually watched the storm form in the South Pacific (El Nino) via satellite, sweep across northern Mexico via the "Pineapple Express" (a fast moving front from the islands) and join forces with a mass of warm air and moisture from the Gulf of Mexico, before moving up the East Coast and colliding with ice cold air.......dumping record amounts of snow with blizzard high winds.
Mexican officials from municipal and state governments, as well as engineers and scientists from federal agencies and state colleges we have worked with in the past, have recently advised us of several major waste water recycling projects which have been established as a result of our efforts initiated nearly four years ago.
In 1999, WATERWATCH International began it's first initiatives to establish a waste water recycling program using fish farming projects at the University of Colima's El Naranjo branch. With the use of algae and various plants, we worked with Dr. Alfredo Mena, Director of Marine Laboratories, to build a small model to experiment with the reduction of nitrates and phosphates in the waste water from the fish ponds.
We went on to meet with the Mayor of Manzanillo, Rogelio Rueda; Dr. Victor Vogel, Director of Water Resources for the State of Colima, and Federal Engineer, Carlos Host to continue discussions and make presentations on the concept of waste water recycling as outlined and described by Dr. Walter Adey, Director of Marine Laboratories at Smithsonian Institute.
In his book, "AQUATICA", Dr. Adey talks about his ATS or "Algal Turf Scrubber" system of returning waste water for continued use after being "scrubbed" or cleaned by blue-green and filament algae plants which absorb high levels of nitrates and phosphate as well as other pollutants. His system was established and working in golf courses in Fremont, CA, municipal waste water treatment plants in Fruitland, Md, and at sugar plantations in the Everglades of Florida.
This year, after nearly 3 years of experimentation, Dr. Mena presented his model or "mesocosm" at the Annual Science Exposition at the West Coast's largest seaport, Manzanillo. President Vincent Fox and his ministers of state visited the Expo and were very impressed with Dr. Mena's model for waste water recycling.
This occurred about the same time as Dr. Vogel and Carlos Host were involved in their own successful experiments using municipal waste water and the concept of plant and algae absorption to control pollutants in the city of Colima, the capital of the State.
Using "lerio" or water chestnuts and "tule" plants which are similar to phragmites plants as well as filament algae, they created a system which removed solids, excessive nitrates and phosphates as well as dangerous pollutants such as heavy metals and passed the recycled water on to farmers for use in irrigation projects. This would also allow a gradual recharge of ground water tables as the water naturally filtered back into the soil.
The project, now known as "Reclamation Del Agua", which began several years ago as an experiment to assist fish farmers reclaim their waste water, has now been expanded to nearly 40 villages throughout the State of Colima by President Fox and it is now being presented as the best way to conserve ground water and prevent the pollution of lakes, river, streams and the ocean from municipal waste water.
It has been shown to be cost effective and very simple in it's concept.
Today, however, it has been restricted to communities of about 3000-5000 in population (smaller villages) until the government has a better chance to monitor results. At that point, larger systems will be established.
The timing for these projects was no coincidence: a major drought has struck various parts of Mexico at the same time that population demands have been depleting vast ground water reserves. Much of this was foreseen and is now being acted upon by the Mexican government.
National Water Quality Standards Database and Designated Uses
The EPA is developing an on-line National Water Quality Standards Database
(WQSDB) to improve public access to information about how waters are being protected and to empower the public to better understand how actions in their watershed can help or harm those waters. The first phase will allow users to access information on "designated uses."
These uses, which are set by the state, describe the functions that each waterbody is intended to support water or other use. The second phase of the WQSDB will add numeric "water quality criteria," representing the quality of water that supports particular uses.
When completed, the WQSDB will allow access to maps and tables for all surface water bodies across the nation..
