PVC pipe’s durability and ease of installation were deciding factors for the engineers selecting materials for a “marsh machine” at a Philadelphia wildlife refuge. The project gained national recognition in the United States when it was named on the Earth Day Top 10 Green Projects by the American Institute of Architect’s Committee on the Environment (COTE) in partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy.

 

Using a web of recyclable PVC pipe of various lengths and diameters, the marsh machine serves as a water purification system at the Cusano Environmental Education Center (CEEC) in Philadelphia’s John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge in Tinicum. The US$7 million, 18,000-square-foot CEEC was built to uphold sustainable design principles – energy and resource efficiency, as well as water conservation – and to communicate these principles clearly and simply.

 

The Earth Day recognition was a fitting tribute to the centre’s namesake, Antonio “Tony” Cusano, a General Electric employee who had structured his will to have the bulk of his estate go to a cause benefiting the environment. After he died in 1993, Cusano’s US$2.5 million bequest to the U.S. Department of the Interior initiated the construction of the Cusano Environmental Education Center, which opened its doors eight years later.

 

Before the CEEC was constructed, Philadelphia’s Tinicum marsh had undergone intense pressure from development. As a result, its preservation – along with creating a safe habitat for migrating birds – has been a critical element in demonstrating the importance of wetlands in maintaining the health of ecological systems.

 

Aiding that preservation is the 20-by-40-foot marsh machine, an ecological wastewater-treatment system that reprocesses all of the water from the visitor centre, filtering it through a “constructed wetland” of PVC pipes, gravel and marsh plants.

 

It took about six months for Applied Water Management Inc. – which designs, builds and operates water and wastewater treatment facilities – to construct the marsh machine. The company decided to use PVC pipe for its durability and ease of installation, as well as its affordability and low maintenance.

 

Thanks to a solar aquatics system and the irrigation pipes, various plants thrive in a series of small marshes on two gravel and stone beds. The wastewater from the centre is purified by bacteria growing in the roots of plants through a UV filter system and recycled back to the centre for non-potable purposes. The treated water is also used inside the greenhouse.

 

“PVC pipe is foolproof and will last a long time,” said Michael Zavoda, a senior process engineer with Applied Water Management. “It’s also very easy to cut and glue.”

 

The Cusano Center’s facilities manager, Michael McMenamin, said the marsh machine is an integral part of what the centre has to offer.

 

“It helps visitors better understand the concept of sustainable design, where energy is conserved through maximizing daylight, natural ventilation and passive solar heating,” McMenamin said. “Building materials are also part of this important system. That is why we carefully selected them for recycled content and environmental impact.”

 

Today, 150,000 visitors enjoy the centre’s educational resources every year. The CEEC’s exhibits and programs and the surrounding beauty attract schoolchildren, nature photographers and birdwatchers alike – all fulfilling the legacy left behind by “Tony” Cusano.