Re-thinking wastewater landscapes: combining innovative strategies to address tomorrow's urban wastewater treatment challenges

摘要

Most major cities worldwide face urban water management challenges relating to drinkingnsupply, stormwater and wastewater treatment, and ecological preservation. In light of climatenchange and finite natural resources, addressing these challenges in sustainable ways will requireninnovative solutions arising from interdisciplinary collaboration. This article summarizes five majornurban water management strategies that bridge the fields of engineering, ecology, landscapenarchitecture, and urban planning. A conceptual implementation of these strategies isndemonstrated through a design for a small constructed wetland treatment system in SannFrancisco, California. The proposed decentralized system described in this article consists of andetention basin, vegetated and open free water surface wetlands, and ultraviolet disinfection.nIn wet weather, the system would detain and treat combined sewer discharges (CSD), and in drynweather it would treat residential greywater for toilet flushing and irrigation in a nearbynneighborhood. It is designed to adapt over time to changing climatic conditions and treatmentndemands. Importantly, this proposal demonstrates how constructed wetland engineers cannincorporate multiple benefits into their systems, offering a vision of how wastewaterninfrastructure can be an attractive community, educational, recreational, and habitat amenitynthrough the integration of engineering, ecology, and landscape design.