One of the greatest challenges facing China is a dearth of fresh water for its burgeoning population.
One of the greatest challenges facing China is a dearth of fresh water for its burgeoning population. A group of 10 Chinese officials were in Santa Cruz County yesterday to see how we do it. They toured three facilities, along with engineer Peter Haase of Fall Creek Engineering. Haase specializes in biological treatment systems that use aquatic flora and fauna, not chemicals, to purify wastewater.
The Chinese project is focused on some 200 villages in southeast China with an estimated population of 6 million. The region suffers from a dearth of adequate sanitation facilities.
Haase points out that the project will have to balance conflicting concerns faced by the Chinese government. Unlike Santa Cruz County, the area is primarily rural, with few roads and limited access. This means that many of the projects will have to be built by hand. At the same time, construction will require the conversion of some farmland to environmental purposes, but agricultural self-sufficiency for its enormous population is no less urgent a concern for the Chinese government. These are just some of the challenges Haase has already faced on his frequent trips to China over the past four months. Nevertheless, he believes that the biological approach to wastewater treatment could serve the needs of rural China by using a “natural pond/wetland-based treatment system.” Read more at Santa Cruz Sentinel.
