Arcata Wastewater Treatment Plant and Wildlife Sanctuary is an innovative sewer

management system A management system is a set of policies, processes and procedures used by an organization to ensure that it can fulfill the tasks required to achieve its objectives. These objectives cover many aspects of the organization's operations (including ...

employed by the city of

Arcata, California Arcata (; Wiyot language, Wiyot: ''Goudi’ni''; Yurok language, Yurok: ''Oket'oh'') is a city adjacent to the Arcata Bay (northern) portion of Humboldt Bay (United States), Humboldt Bay in Humboldt County, California, Humboldt County, Californ ...

. A series of oxidation ponds, treatment wetlands and enhancement

marshes A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found at ...

are used to filter sewage waste. The marshes also serve as a

wildlife refuge A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

, and are on the

Pacific Flyway The Pacific Flyway is a major north-south flyway for migratory birds in the Americas, extending from Alaska to Patagonia. Every year, migratory birds travel some or all of this distance both in spring and in fall, following food sources, heading ...

. The Arcata Marsh is a popular destination for birders. The marsh has been awarded the Innovations in Government award from the

Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a US$25,000 gift from Edsel Ford. By 1947, after the death ...

Harvard Kennedy School The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), officially the John F. Kennedy School of Government, is the school of public policy and government of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school offers master's degrees in public policy, public ...

. Numerous holding pools in the marsh, called "lakes," are named after donors and citizens who helped start the marsh project, including

Humboldt State University California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt also known as Cal Poly Humboldt, Humboldt or Cal Poly"Cal Poly" may also refer to California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, California or California State Polytechnic Universi ...

professors

George Allen George Allen may refer to: Politics and law * George E. Allen (1896–1973), American political operative and one-time head coach of the Cumberland University football team * George Allen (Australian politician) (1800–1877), Mayor of Sydney and ...

and Robert A. Gearheart who were instrumental in the creation of the Arcata Marsh. In 1969 Allen also started an aquaculture project at the marsh to raise salmonids in mixtures of sea water and partially treated wastewater. Despite being effectively a sewer, the series of open-air lakes do not have an odor, and are a popular destination for

birdwatching Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device like binoculars or a telescope, b ...

cycling Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from two ...

and

jogging Jogging is a form of trotting or running at a slow or leisurely pace. The main intention is to increase physical fitness with less stress on the body than from faster running but more than walking, or to maintain a steady speed for longer periods ...

Sewage treatment

The

sewage treatment Sewage treatment (or domestic wastewater treatment, municipal wastewater treatment) is a type of wastewater treatment which aims to remove contaminants from sewage to produce an effluent that is suitable for discharge to the surrounding envir ...

process takes place in stages: # Primary Treatment (completed in 1949): Sewage is held in sedimentation tanks where the sludge is removed and processed for use as fertilizer. #

Secondary Treatment Secondary treatment is the removal of biodegradable organic matter (in solution or suspension) from sewage or similar kinds of wastewater. The aim is to achieve a certain degree of effluent quality in a sewage treatment plant suitable for the inte ...

(completed in 1957): Primary effluent is pumped into oxidation ponds (here bacteria break down the waste). #Disinfection (completed in 1966): Secondary effluent is chlorinated to kill

pathogen In biology, a pathogen ( el, πάθος, "suffering", "passion" and , "producer of") in the oldest and broadest sense, is any organism or agent that can produce disease. A pathogen may also be referred to as an infectious agent, or simply a germ ...

s and dechlorinated to avoid damage to natural environments. #

Tertiary Treatment Sewage treatment (or domestic wastewater treatment, municipal wastewater treatment) is a type of wastewater treatment which aims to remove contaminants from sewage to produce an effluent that is suitable for discharge to the surrounding envir ...

(competed in 1986): Disinfected secondary effluent is put into artificial marshes where it is cleansed by reeds, cattails, and bacteria. #Disinfection: Tertiary effluent is chlorinated to kill pathogens from bird droppings and dechlorinated to avoid damage to natural environments.Oppelt, E. Timothy ''Manual: Constructed Wetlands Treatment of Municipal Wastewaters'' (2000) United States Environmental Protection Agency pp.18,61&139

Treatment and enhancement

Sewage from the city of Arcata is treated and released to Humboldt Bay via complex flow routing through a number of contiguous ponds, wetlands, and marshes. Resemblance of treatment features to natural bay environments may cause potential ambiguity about where wastewater ceases to be considered partially treated sewage and meets enhancement objectives of the

California Bays and Estuaries Policy The Water Quality Control Policy for the Enclosed Bays and Estuaries of California is published by the California State Water Resources Control Board as guidelines to prevent water quality degradation. The policy is revised as needed.State Water ...

. The wastewater treatment system includes both treatment wetlands and enhancement marshes. Treatment wetlands improve oxidation pond effluent quality to meet the federal definition of

secondary treatment Secondary treatment is the removal of biodegradable organic matter (in solution or suspension) from sewage or similar kinds of wastewater. The aim is to achieve a certain degree of effluent quality in a sewage treatment plant suitable for the inte ...

. Disinfection and dechlorination is the final step of the wastewater treatment process. Disinfected wastewater may be discharged either to Humboldt Bay or to enhancement marshes. Enhancement marshes purify the wastewater and provide wetland habitat. Enhancement marsh effluent is disinfected to improve

coliform index The coliform index is a rating of the purity of water based on a count of fecal bacteria. It is one of many tests done to assure sufficient water quality. Coliform bacteria are microorganisms that primarily originate in the intestines of warm-blood ...

changes from birds using tertiary treatment enhancement marsh habitat. After leaving the treatment wetlands the effluent is mixed with water returning from the enhancement marshes. Wild bird

feces Feces ( or faeces), known colloquially and in slang as poo and poop, are the solid or semi-solid remains of food that was not digested in the small intestine, and has been broken down by bacteria in the large intestine. Feces contain a relati ...

contain

coliform bacteria Coliform bacteria are defined as either motile or non-motile Gram-negative non- spore forming Bacilli that possess β-galactosidase to produce acids and gases under their optimal growth temperature of 35-37°C. They can be aerobes or facultative ...

similar to those found in human sewage. Recreational access is limited to areas where effluent has received secondary treatment and disinfection.

Conventional pollutants or wetland detritus

Wetland plants use the energy of sunlight to produce five to ten times as much carbohydrate biomass per acre as a

wheat Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...

field.

Detritus In biology, detritus () is dead particulate organic material, as distinguished from dissolved organic material. Detritus typically includes the bodies or fragments of bodies of dead organisms, and fecal material. Detritus typically hosts commun ...

from decomposing wetlands vegetation forms the base of a

food chain A food chain is a linear network of links in a food web starting from producer organisms (such as grass or algae which produce their own food via photosynthesis) and ending at an apex predator species (like grizzly bears or killer whales), det ...

for aquatic organisms, birds and

mammal Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur or ...

s. Individuals who value wetland environments may not realize the effluent characteristics necessary for release of treated wastewater to Humboldt Bay. Although there is no evidence of harm to wildlife, some regulators suggest potential risk to wildlife using treatment wetlands because of an absence of significant research on wildlife exposure to partially treated effluent and to potential accumulation of chemicals being removed from effluent in wetland treatment processes. Ongoing research at Humboldt State University minimizes potential risk to Humboldt Bay wetlands and wildlife. The City of Arcata generates an average volume of of sewage per day. Winter rainfall onto treatment ponds and marshes increases the volume of effluent discharged from the wetland treatment system to as much as per day.

National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System The Clean Water Act (CWA) is the primary federal law in the United States governing water pollution. Its objective is to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the nation's waters; recognizing the responsibiliti ...

regulations require monthly average effluent concentrations of

biochemical oxygen demand Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) is the amount of dissolved oxygen (DO) needed (i.e. demanded) by aerobic biological organisms to break down organic material present in a given water sample at a certain temperature over a specific time period. T ...

and of

total suspended solids Total suspended solids (TSS) is the dry-weight of suspended particles, that are not dissolved, in a sample of water that can be trapped by a filter that is analyzed using a filtration apparatus known as sintered glass crucible. TSS is a water qua ...

to be no greater than 30 mg/L, with an additional requirement for removal of 85 percent of the quantities measured in untreated sewage from the City of Arcata. Unfortunately, when measuring concentrations leaving treatment wetlands, neither of these analytical methods can distinguish between unremoved

conventional pollutant A conventional pollutant is a term used in the USA to describe a water pollutant that is amenable to treatment by a municipal sewage treatment plant. A basic list of conventional pollutants is defined in the U.S. Clean Water Act. The list has been ...

s originally arriving in sewage, or detritus of decomposing wetland vegetation; so the limitations may apply to the sum of both.Franson, Mary Ann ''Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater'' 14th Edition (1976) American Public Health Association pp.89-95&543-544

Wildlife

The Arcata Marsh and Wildlife Sanctuary encompasses 307 acres of land situated along the

. Over 327 species of birds have been recorded at the sanctuary. Numerous plant,

fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...

insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs ...

reptile Reptiles, as most commonly defined are the animals in the class Reptilia ( ), a paraphyletic grouping comprising all sauropsids except birds. Living reptiles comprise turtles, crocodilians, squamates (lizards and snakes) and rhynchocephalians ( ...

and

amphibian Amphibians are tetrapod, four-limbed and ectothermic vertebrates of the Class (biology), class Amphibia. All living amphibians belong to the group Lissamphibia. They inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living within terres ...

species inhabit the marsh. These include river otters,

gray fox The gray fox (''Urocyon cinereoargenteus''), or grey fox, is an omnivorous mammal of the family Canidae, widespread throughout North America and Central America. This species and its only congener, the diminutive island fox (''Urocyon littora ...

es,

red-legged frog Red-legged frog is a common name for several species of frog: * California red-legged frog, ''Rana draytonii'', a frog endemic to California, United States * La Selle red-legged frog, ''Eleutherodactylus furcyensis'', a frog found in the Dominican ...

tidewater goby ''Eucyclogobius newberryi'', the Northern tidewater goby, is a species of goby native to lagoons of streams, marshes, and creeks along the coast of California, United States. The Northern tidewater goby is one of six native goby species to Califo ...

bobcat The bobcat (''Lynx rufus''), also known as the red lynx, is a medium-sized cat native to North America. It ranges from southern Canada through most of the contiguous United States to Oaxaca in Mexico. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUC ...

striped skunk The striped skunk (''Mephitis mephitis'') is a skunk of the genus '' Mephitis'' that occurs across much of North America, including southern Canada, the United States, and northern Mexico. It is currently listed as least concern by the IUCN on ac ...

praying mantis Mantises are an order (Mantodea) of insects that contains over 2,400 species in about 460 genera in 33 families. The largest family is the Mantidae ("mantids"). Mantises are distributed worldwide in temperate and tropical habitats. They ha ...

and

red-sided garter snake The red-sided garter snake (''Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis'') is a subspecies of the common garter snake, in the subfamily Natricinae of the family Colubridae. This slender subspecies of natricine snake is indigenous to North America and i ...

Arcata Marsh Interpretive Center

The Friends of the Arcata Marsh (FOAM) operate the Arcata Marsh Interpretive Center that contains exhibits about the operations of the treatment plant, the importance of the marsh, and about the plants and animals that live there. Volunteer docents give tours of the marsh. Education programs are offered for school, scout and other groups, as well as summer camp programs.

References

External links

City of Arcata - Arcata Marsh and Wildlife Sanctuary
* Appropedia.org - Arcata Marsh Overview {{DEFAULTSORT:Arcata Wastewater Treatment Plant And Wildlife Sanctuary Arcata, California Sewage treatment plants in California Nature reserves in California Wildlife sanctuaries of the United States Constructed wetlands Waste treatment technology Museums in Humboldt County, California Nature centers in California Natural history museums in California Protected areas of Humboldt County, California 1949 establishments in California Protected areas established in 1949