What and Where are the Columbia Wetlands?

Along the banks of the Congaree River and south of I-77 lie approximately 1,500 acres of land which could be used for the Columbia Wetlands. All this land (see image at right) is owned by our company and we propose that it be used as constructed treatment wetlands to further cleanse existing sewer plant effluent. Subsequent blog posts will outline why tertiary treatment is needed, why this proposal should be significantly cheaper than traditional methods of tertiary treatment, and list the numerous benefits that flow (no pun intended) from this idea.
Two major sewer plants already adjoin this land (Columbia Metro and East Richland plants) and a third is located just across the Congaree River (Cayce plant). The Environmental Protection Agency calls wetlands the “earth’s kidneys” because they serve as nature’s filters. The proposed wetlands will use nature’s own factory to do the job of cleaning the wastewater that flows out of the Columbia Metro sewer plant before it mixes into the Congaree River and flows downstream to the Congaree Swamp National Monument and Lake Marion and beyond. These natural looking basins will not only be beautiful, they will be the home to wildlife and plants and can attract visitors. They will not smell or in any way remind visitors or neighbors of sewer treatment plants.