EBMUD “Engineers Forum” PRESENTATION: October 19th 2009

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Nik Bertulis and Brent Bucknum of Urban Biofilter presented to East Bay Municipal Utility District “Engineers Forum” an EBMUD staff exclusive, invitation only event. Between 30-40 staff engineers and some department managers were in attendance. We are thankful to EBMUD staff Tim Reynolds and Jon Bauer for inviting us! This was our first step to gain support and hopefully create fruitful partnership with EBMUD. We are interested in researching and developing biological solutions to wastewater treatment, with a specific focus on endocrine disruptors, pharmacuticals and heavy metals. The the grander context of sustainable water management, our 2040 challenge ahead, is to find new, low cost sustainable ways of recycling wastewater, to meet our growing water demands, without resorting to environmentally devastating alternatives, such as Pardee Dam expansion, or Desalinization.

Proposal

This is the conceptual installation and maintenance plan for the Urban Bamboo Biofilter.

1. Introduction

The Urban Biofilter project designs, implements and advocates for green infrastructure in environmentally degraded urban communities, to create jobs and provide quantifiable ecosystem services such as air, soil and water filtration. The Urban Bamboo Biofilter uses bamboo and microorganisms to purify waste and improve quality of life in inner-cities. A micro-industrial forestry project grown with waste water on brownfields, the Urban Bamboo Biofilter bioremediates water, soil and air while shielding residents from industry and transportation routes and beautifying neighborhoods. By valuing ecosystem services the project enables a green economy that serves environmental justice.

2. Location

The Urban Biofilter will be strategically placed to filter particulate matter from transportation routes and stationary pollution sources. Urban forests can remove SO2, NOx, CO, CO2, Ozone, PAH & other VOCs, as well as PMs and metals from contaminated air-sheds and have been shown to capture 15 kilograms per day per square kilometer of PM10

. Unlike trees, which take 25 years or longer to achieve maximum pollution filtration, in one to two years the Urban Bamboo Biofilter can effectively improve air quality, reduce storm water runoff, and provide ecosystem benefits.

3. Species

There are thousands of kinds of bamboo. We have selected a handful of species appropriate to our climate, which will fit different installation criteria: height and shade tolerance, while yielding biomass for potential use in bamboo industries.

5. Propagation

Planned propagation is a crucial step in cost reduction of the Urban Bamboo Biofilter. By planning ahead and propagating in-house, we can dramatically cut costs. Ideally a lot covered in 12” deep mulch and provided with regular recycled water would be planted with bamboo cuttings. Minimal maintenance would be required, only regular water on a timer. With a minimum of one year and an ideal of two years, these plants would be cut into sections and moved to the plantation areas.

4. Installation

Bamboo is installed in root barriers. Because of their extremely shallow rhizome system, bamboo can be contained with a 36” plastic barrier. Mulch and regular water.

5. Maintenance & Harvesting

Bamboo is a renewable resource because it generates biomass that can be harvested each year. With research and business development we will identify the most profitable value added products that can be produced from the excess biomass and we will promote a bamboo industry in the East Bay. A Job Training Program coupled with the job creation from the new bamboo industry will alleviate unemployment while improving ecology and quality of life in West Oakland.