Rural Flush: Harnessing Multifunctional Constructed Wetlands to Play a Winning Hand in Blue River, OR.
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Date
2024-06
Authors
Meyer, Ted
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Oregon
Abstract
This project applies a new model for rural wastewater treatment in Blue River,
an unincorporated community in Lane County, Oregon. Blue River’s destruction
in the 2020 Holiday Farm Fire created both a legal imperative to modernize
the community’s sanitation and an opportunity to rethink rural wastewater
treatment. The model combines basic mechanical primary treatment with
extensive secondary treatment by constructed wetlands. Replacing mechanical
secondary treatment processes with constructed wetlands considerably reduces
the operating costs of centralized sanitation, lowering a critical barrier to treating
wastewater offsite in low-population areas of the United States. Constructed
wetlands additionally restore threatened habitats and provide recreational
opportunities, making them dynamic community assets. The efficacy of treatment
wetlands have been widely demonstrated in research and practice worldwide,
and are beginning to be adapted in the United States. Landscape architects are
uniquely suited to act as ‘aesthetic ambassadors’ for this intervention, which can
provide a sustainable and affordable model for rural wastewater treatment.
Description
144 pages
Keywords
landscape architecture, Wastewater Treatment, Blue River, OR, Sanitation, clean water, wastewater