Dear Living Machines Colleagues,

I've just returned from extensive travel when I brought all my printed out e-mails along about these systems to read. I find this area of research and development absolutely fascinating, and the development work Dr. Todd and others doing amazing in the light of the regulatory hurtles they must face every day. I have three questions, prompted by Dr. Marland's insightful
summary:

1. Has anyone such as Dr Todd's group summarized the research basis of these systems in a review paper that covers the various components you mention, and the areas of priority research?

2. Has anyone summarized the regulatory situation for the use of biological wastewater treatment systems in the USA on a state-by-state basis? In California there are regulations against use of secondary treated wastewater on food crops for example.

3. Is there a good reference as to the percentage of US states or other countries that are covered by tertiary WW treatment systems?, and,

4.  Per million gallons, what is the treatment cost and land intensities of Dr. Todd's BEST living machine vs. conventional sewage treatment?

Thanking you in advance for your time and your important work,

Barry Costa-Pierce
Student Recommended Faculty in Global Sustainability
Department of Environmental Analysis & Design
University of California, Irvine, CA 92697-7070
Tel: 714-824-8573, Fax: 824-3571
bcp@uci.edu and aquaecos@cts.com
http://darwin.bio.uci.edu/~sustain/costapierce.html
--
Angus Marland <amarland@GN.APC.ORG> wrote:
>With regard to the current discussion on Living Machines, I believe the
>important point to bear in mind is that they are intensified wetland
>systems, not less-intensive activated sludge systems. The inspired notion
>that one can design and manage contained ecosystems as tools to perform
>useful work lays the foundation for a whole new body of research, and
>today's Living Machines represent the infancy of this technology.
>Questions such as how aquatic ecosystems break down complex organic
>compounds, e.g. oestrogen mimics, how they remove pathogens, and the fate
>of viruses and metals through a range of different ecosystems / plant and
>invertebrate species will have to be examined.  My hunch is that they will
>tend to be more efficient, more robust, and more thorough than equivalent
>so-called conventional systems.
>Nutrient removal is another key one to assess:  some media like calcified
>seaweed are remarkable, and when incorporated into a Living Machine, the
>effect could be significantly improved.