Mariposa Gardening and Design Blog
The Sweet Spot Between Art and Ecology
The Design and Build Team at Mariposa has developed an ecological water feature, we’re calling a Living Fountain. The Living Fountain filters and redistributes waste water (greywater*) from a residential washing machine, and uses the filtered water to irrigate the garden. In designing The Living Fountain, we focused on the science required to filter the water as well as creating a beautiful water feature.
The Living Fountain is designed to effectively clean residential laundry water via a sand and root filtration system; to keep waste water out of the sewer system and return it back to the landscape; to increase habitat for birds and insects such as Dragonflies; and to provide a sculptural work of art for the garden.
A source of inspiration for this project has been John Todd’s “Living Machine"--a series of contained small scale wetlands that are used to clean water. Living Machines have proven so effective at water filtration that they have been used to partially replace the municipal sewer systems in cities such as Burlington, VT. We took the concept of natural water filtration done in containers, and applied it to residential laundry water. Look here for more Living Machine projects: Living Machines
Our Living Fountain is an artful collection of mostly found objects and containers, filled with plants and flowing with water. First,
laundry water is diverted to run through a sand filter which traps any large particles. Then it is aerated by pumping the water up through a copper tube, and dropping into a steel bowl. From the steel bowl, the water falls again to the first planted container, which is set at an angle, and runs the water through the plant roots down to a 180 gallon tank, packed with water plants.
The root mat formed by all the plants performs a major portion of the filtration, removing bacteria, chemicals, and microbes. From the last and largest “wetland” tank the water flows below ground to a mulched trench, delivering water to a living willow fence and also irrigating other ornamental habitat beds.
By engaging plants as greywater filters we conserve water by re-using what would normally be diverted to the sewer system, and are able to
water plants that usually would not survive in our Mediterranean climate. These water-loving plants diversify the
habitat for beneficial insects, while the fountain attracts birds to feed and bathe. The water, plants, and wildlife also provide a well known joy for humans--the sparkle and vivacity of flowing water. Made with a mix of salvaged materials, the Living Fountain achieves a smooth balance between art and ecology.
For more information, read the great article in the SF Chronicle on January 21, 2009 by amazing naturalists Joe Eaton and Ron Sullivan:
Chronicle Article
*Check this section in the following weeks for more in depth explanations of greywater, natural systems for water
filtration, and more about the Living Fountain.