Different Kind of Cigarette Filter

[jillithian]

Man-Made Wetlands Filter Wastewater From Facility.

The AP (12/5, Felberbaum) reports, "Eventually the birds, foxes, turtles and deer stumbled upon a man-made wetlands that naturally filters wastewater from the nation's biggest tobacco maker. The nearly 50 acres of wetlands are part of a $7 million science experiment," which is "using more than 150,000 plants to filter wastewater discharged by Philip Morris USA's Park 500 facility." This "project along the James River...became fully operational over the summer" and now "is creating a habitat for many animal species -- a stark contrast from the industrial city of steel buildings and towers less than a mile away." The AP notes, "Wastewater first flowed into the wetlands in March and more than 15 species of plants like bullrush and duck potato were installed shortly afterward, followed by more than 70 varieties of animals that come and go with the seasons." About "1.8 million gallons of treated wastewater a day moves through a series of ponds with native trees and shrubs. The plant life and microbes absorb mineral nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorous before the water reaches the river."