Short Summary
The first man-made wetlands in Maryland needs your support. Designed and
installed over 25 years ago at a Buddhist monastery and temple, the wetlands
have successfully received and treated all of their waste without chemicals or
any other treatment. And now, some pretty serious maintenance is necessary to
keep this landmark environmental experiment operating, setting a continuing
example of what can be done when green is the goal.
What We Need & What You Get
In 1988, the oldest operating Buddhist
monastery in Maryland, Kunzang Palyul Choling, ran afoul of state waste water
discharge regulations when their old septic system failed. Keeping this
original system in compliance would have required one of three expensive and
environmentally adverse solutions, including chemical treatment and discharge
into the Chesapeake Bay estuary. None of these were suitable for the
philosophy and goals of the monastery and temple.
A new alternative, called constructed
wetlands, was just being pioneered to protect lakes in areas where population
growth was exceeding the ability of the land to adequately absorb the waste
water volumes. Constructed wetlands work just like natural ones – the aquatic
vegetation uses the nitrogen (ammonia) from waste water as fertilizer, removing
it from the water table while supporting the growth of plants and the attendant
life forms requiring this environment to thrive.
Mr. David Bailey, a temple member and
water treatment expert, proposed such a constructed wetlands for KPC and, after
educating state and local regulators of the efficacy of this new technology,
secured the necessary permits to build and operate this landmark environmental
solution, the first in Maryland and the Chesapeake Bay estuary. And we did.
After 26 years of continuous and
successful operation, our constructed wetlands needs maintenance. The gravel
beds have become clogged with solids, reducing water flow to the aquatic
vegetation, and they need to be removed and replaced. Additionally, the aquatic
plants themselves need to be cleared of invasive species and new plants installed.
There is an urgency to this project. The
monastery discharges must be kept in compliance with waste water discharge
requirements, and the work must be done before the first frosts so the aquatic
plants have the chance to establish themselves. Otherwise, a temporary “pump and
dump” system must be put in place to handle the waste water until spring. This
is both environmentally adverse and very expensive, taking valuable operating
funds from the compassionate activities of the monastery and temple such as
feeding the homeless and animal rescue.
We need $33,000 to do this. Please help
and become part of the “Brown Is The New Green” environmental movement.
The Impact
The use of constructed wetlands has the potential to change how rural and developing locations treat their wastewater. Many parts of the US and the world have no water treatment facilities. Constructed wetlands require few resources and none of the chemicals than industrial water treatment facilities use.
Risks & Challenges
Risk Number 1. We
don’t raise enough to fund the required repairs. Without funding
for this project, the monastery will be required to use holding tanks with a
three-times-per-week schedule for removing the accumulated waste and taking it
to traditional sewage treatment facilities. This service will cost
approximately $1,000 per month and add to the chemical waste treatment load in
the Chesapeake Bay estuary.
Risk Number 2.
We don’t raise it in time. The wetlands
repair requires the planting of new vegetation and the preparation of the land
for that so they can take root before winter sets in. Missing this schedule
will mean no work can be done until the spring at a significant increase in
operating expenses (see Risk Number 1) and the reduction of the compassionate
activities of the monastery due to the loss of funds.
Challenge. Time
is not on our side. The work must be done before the first frost to give
the aquatic plants time to get established.