NEWTS

Boxerwood's Nature-Emulating Wastewater Treatment System

Boxerwood began as a private garden, with no awareness that it would one day become a public facility. Our Visitors Center septic system, installed in the 1950s for a family of five, became obsolete and inadequate and in fact might have been be leaking its waste into the groundwater. To meet the long-term demand of our growing public, Boxerwood needed far more substantial wastewater-handling capabilities.

The solution for Boxerwood’s waste treatment system problem is NEWTS – an innovative, educational mini-ecosystem that cleans and efficiently recycles the Visitor Center’s water and waste. One-of-a-kind in our area, the Boxerwood System, is a man-made compacted wetland that is visually attractive and environmentally sound.

Unlike chemically based systems, this System’s waste treatment takes place through a series of managed environments. From the restrooms and kitchen, the waste first travels to septic tanks, through a recirculating media-filter where helpful bacteria continue to break down and ingest organic pollutants. Next, in the greenhouse, it goes through our Constructed Wetlands -- lined trenches where common wetland microbes, plants and animals will filter and clean the water. The water then goes through ultra-violet rays provided by the sun or a lamp when not enough natural UV rays are available. Finally, the water is given to plants that transpire the liquid through their leaves. All of this takes place in a remarkably small space.

Added Benefits:

The Boxerwood Nature-Emulating Wastewater Treatment System is a teaching tool demonstrating complex and delicate ecosystems and our own interdependence with plants, wildlife and watersheds. Through educational programs, NEWTS is a key element toward fulfilling Boxerwood’s mission of "educating and inspiring people of all ages toward becoming successful and environmentally responsible stewards of the Earth."
In addition to solving our problems, systems like ours could also be a major solution to the threat to water quality posed by nitrate pollution in our local and the greater Chesapeake Bay watershed.
Nitrate pollution is the Bay’s most significant problem -- causing algal blooms, which deprive the aquatic environment of needed sunlight and dissolved oxygen, resulting in compromised aquatic plant and animal life.

Septic systems are one of the top 10 sources of groundwater contamination in 35 out of 37 states surveyed by the EPA. They also are the second largest source of groundwater nitrate contamination in the U.S. They are the third major contaminant of groundwater in the U.S., rating higher than industrial facilities and urban runoff. Clearly, alternatives to traditional septic systems are critical to the future of the health of the Bay, our groundwater and us.

Why build NEWTS? (for Boxerwood, or generally for our area)

• The land available for a traditional septic system at Boxerwood was not large enough and does not “perk” sufficiently. When water is discharged to land that does not perk, it cannot seep into the ground fast enough. It frequently puddles for days creating a health hazard.
• The limestone geology in western Virginia is predominately karst. When surface water does infiltrate the ground, its acids slowly dissolve calcium carbonate in the limestone bedrock. Fissures and sinkholes develop through which water flows freely underground. Instead of slowly filtrating through the soil, untreated waste can leak directly into the groundwater. The toxins and excess nutrients (particularly nitrates) in human waste are a threat to all the waters in our watershed address.
• Virginia Building Code for septic systems sets the placement for a septic field too deep for plants to take up excess nutrients and toxins before wastewater moves toward the groundwater.

Who built NEWTS?
Designed by: Rodney Pierson, Professional Engineer -- in consultation with: John Schoffield, Va. Health Dept. Water Programs; Brandon Kiracofe, Environmental Engineer, DEQ - Valley Regional Office; James Kreissl, US Environmental Protection Agency (provided by Canaan Valley Institute; Contractor, Hunter Mohring; Backhoe & Plumbing, Steve Thomas; Electricity & Electronics, Ben & Lois Brown; Work Force & Garden oversight, K B Landscapes; Laborer & problem solver , Wil Norris.

See the Glossery of Terms.

Follow the water: Source---> Septic Tanks --->Recirculating Filtration System---> Greenhouse (Subsurface Wetland, UV Light, Free Surface Wetland) ---> Discharge Site