WASTE WATER GARDEN®
WASTE WATER TREATMENT
FOR TROPICAL ZONE
Definition of Waste water Garden
Definition of Wastewater Garden :
An ecological low-cost beautiful solution for effective
sewage and wastewater treatment.
Principally, this method combined the conventional
waste water treatment with the function of plants in the
garden as bacterial absorber and water purifier. This
method also transform the appearance of waste water
treatment plant to become a natural garden or park.
History of Waste Water Garden
a)
b)
Wastewater Gardens were developed over a decade
ago (in year 1991) of research by Planetary Coral
Reef Foundation (PCRF-US) led by DR. Mark Nelson in
order to:
Treat and recycle the water inside Biosphere 2; the
world’s largest sealed series of ecosystems second to
the earth; and
For application in the world’s environment to protect
freshwater and the ocean from sewage pollution.
History of Waste Water Garden
One of the most striking accomplishments for Biosphere
2 is its massive recycling systems. Since the year 1991,
crew members (Biospherians) who had to stay around
two years inside the Biosphere, have used the same
water and recycled all waste products inside.
The successful implementation of Wastewater Garden
method in Biosphere 2 lead to the use of this system in
more common condition, in the real life. Until today
Wastewater Garden already installed in more than 150
homes, hotels, businesses, and communities through
the world. Currently exist in Australia, Indonesia (Bali,
Sulawesi), Bahamas, Mexico, Poland, Belize, Philippines,
France, and United States (New Mexico).
Application of WWG in Indonesia
Application of WWG in Indonesia
Several places in Indonesia that have waste water
treatment using this method are :
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BAPEDALDA Headquarters, Sanur, Bali
Bruce Residence, Jimbaran, Bali
Catherine Wheeler Residence, Ubud, Bali
Coconuts Beach Resort, Lembongan Island
Froggies Divers, Manado - Bunaken, Sulawesi
Hugo Residence, Bali
Jill Posner residence, Ubud, Bali
Legian Community Clinic, Bali
Lembeh Resort, Bitung, North Sulawesi
Application of WWG in Indonesia
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Lumba-Lumba Diving, Manado, Sulawesi
MAP Tiwoho Community Center - Bunaken, Sulawesi
Muir/ Kusnanto Residence, Petitenget, Bali
Murex Dive Resort, Sulawesi
Padi Padi Hotel, Bali
Rama Sitha Resort, Bali
Sacred Mountain Sanctuary Resort, Sideman, Bali
Salman/Frost Residence, Bali
Sunrise School, Legian, Bali
Tirtagangga Water Palace, Karangasem, Bali
Vajra Villas, Ubud, Bali
Villa Tamu, Bali
Technology / WWG Process
The system works by a gravity flow of wastewater from
toilets, showers, and kitchens into a properly designed
and sealed septic tanks and then into the specially
engineered subsurface flow wetland cell which keeps the
wastewater below the surface of the gravel, preventing
odor and eliminating the risk of human contact with the
sewage.
Technology / WWG Process
The system normally
consists of three
wastewater treatment
phases :
• First stage is taking
place in septic tank
equipped with special
filter, where anaerobic
bacteria commence a
biological breakdown of
the waste, and solids
settle out to the bottom
of the tank.
Technology / WWG Process
• The second stage of
the treatment of
Wastewater Garden is
the water-tight (lined
with concrete,
impermeable clay or
geomembrane to hold
wastewater in)
comprising just one
compartment (cell) in
small systems and more
compartments in larger
applications.
Technology / WWG Process
The gravel allows for adequate residence time for the
wastewater and provides an enormous surface area
where a wide variety of chemical, biological and physical
mechanisms cleanse the wastewater by removing
organic compounds, suspended solids and excess
nutrients.
The plants are the aerators of the system, which helps
maintain a population of air-breathing microbes (aerobic
bacteria) which are part of the treatment process.
Technology / WWG Process
The presence of aerobic and anaerobic zones supports a
wide variety of helpful organisms: bacteria, protozoa,
algae and fungi (10-100 billion per 1 g of soil).
These organisms uptake the nutrients from the
wastewater and use them for their own life processes.
There are also other mechanism for example:
adsorption, decomposition, sedimentation.
Technology / WWG Process
• The third treatment
stage is discharge of the
treated wastewater to a
final leach field, where
fruit trees or other
landscape plants can
utilize remaining
nutrients and water, or
water pond provides
WWG Construction Process
• Tank Preparation
Control box
configuration
WWG Construction Process
• Finished tank with sand
and gravel
• Plantation planting
Advantages of WWG
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Fecal coliform bacteria are reduced more than 99% in
the wetlands, without the use of expensive,
environmentally harmful chemicals like chlorine.
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Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) reduced 85-90%
from influent levels, and removal of nitrogen and
phosphorus is substantial.
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The wetlands are low-cost, low-tech and long-lived.
Maintenance requirements are simple.
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There is no malodor as the sewage is kept from
contact with the air.
Advantages of WWG
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There are no mosquito-breeding or other nuisances
associated with open wastewater (e.g. sewage
lagoons or surface-flow wetlands).
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The possibility of accidental public contact with the
sewage reduced to someone deliberately digging into
the wetland gravel.
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Subsurface flow wetland systems are capable of
extremely high rates of wastewater cleaning.
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Where higher treatment than normal municipal
standards is required for special purposes, an increase
in wetland area provides the equivalent of advanced
water treatment.
Advantages of WWG
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Significantly less wastewater (35-70% depending on
design) is discharged from these special wetlands,
because the plants use large quantities of water in
their transpiration.
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Subsurface wetlands can be exactly sized from small
units for a single residence to larger areas for small
city/town systems and so no surplus capacity need be
paid for than is needed. On the other hand, new
demands can easily be met by simple unit expansion
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The sub-surface wetland systems add considerably to
the landscape beauty in communities where they are
used, and can also include plants to be harvested for
useful or saleable products.
Disadvantages of WWG
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The effectiveness of this system are less in subtropical zones than in tropical zones, due to the
varieties of plant which could be planted and the
changing seasons.
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The gravel have to be renew for every ten year since
the compacting process of gravel by time cause the
shrinkage in gravel porosity.
Thank You …!
Data
Detailed research was conducted on the Wastewater
Gardens systems constructed along the coast of the
Yucatan, in southeastern Mexico, and the results
critically checked by University of Florida scientists.
These Wastewater Gardens systems prevented pollution
damage to off-shore coral reefs, using 3-4 square
meters of wetland per full-time resident. Similar
treatment was also achieved in pilot program
Wastewater Gardens systems in the Kimberley region of
West Australia.
Data
• B.O.D. Graph
Data shows the excellent
reduction of about 85%
in the demonstration
Wastewater Gardens in
Mexico in the amount of
organic material in the
wastewater, to levels
better than standard
amounts.
Data
• Bio Diversity Graph
Data shows the high biodiversity which can be
achieved in Wastewater
Gardens. In the early
years it was three times
that of mangrove
wetland and almost
equal to an adjoining
tropical forest area.
Data
• Phosphorus Graph
Data shows the
effectiveness of
Wastewater Gardens in
putting phosphorus to
effective use by plants
and natural bacteria and
preventing contamination
of groundwater and the
environment.
Data
Sacred Mountain Sanctuary Resort
Sideman, Bali, Indonesia
Sacred Mountain Sanctuary Resort
Sideman, Bali, Indonesia
Padi-Padi Resort Villas, Ubud, Bali,
Indonesia
Posner Residence, Tjampuhan
Ubud, Bali, Indonesia
Starr Residence, Sideman,
Karangasem, Bali, Indonesia
Vajras Villa, Ubud - Bali
Vajras Villa, Ubud - Bali