Living Technologies Ltd: Reefbeds

These are natural systems which are ideal for small scale treatments systems or where there are no land restrictions. They are cost effective to install and simple and inexpensive to run. They do however take up larger areas of land than Restorers.

There are several different options:

Horizontal Flow Reedbeds

Waste water is fed in and flows slowly through the bed in a horizontal path below the surface until it reaches the outlet zone. Here it is collected before leaving via the level control arrangement at the outlet. The waste water comes into contact with a network of aerobic, anoxic and anaerobic zones. Reed rhizomes open up the bed to provide new hydraulic pathways.

Vertical Flow Reedbeds

These systems are often used to reduce on-site sludge production. The sludge is added to the reedbed and is degraded in the oxygen rich environment by the plant roots.

Pond and Reedbed Systems

Pond and Reedbed Systems are individually-designed, robust, and self-maintaining, and can treat domestic, municipal, agricultural and industrial waste water to very high standards.

They consist of a series of shallow outdoor ponds, fringed with various species of emergent plants, and are linked by areas of aggregate-filled constructed wetland.

Systems can be built for as few as 5 and as many as 3,000 people. Land requirements are approximately 10m2 per person equivalent, depending on conditions.

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Sustainable Urban Runoff Treatment

Surface water from roads, roofs and driveways drains into rivers, streams, ponds and other watercourses. This runoff can contain high levels of suspended solids, hydrocarbons and heavy metals.

Systems are designed to:

•	Improve water quality by settling suspended solids and trapping hydrocarbons
•	Attenuate storm flows to achieve green field runoff rates, preventing surges of polluted water entering and eroding streams
•	Digest and fix pollutants through microbial activity
•	Enhance wildlife and amenity value of a site
•	Encourage infiltration to assist recharge of aquifers or groundwater.

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Lake Restoration

Ponds and lakes can contain high levels of nutrients, often sufficient to enable blooms of algae to proliferate in the spring and summer months.

Aqua balance barley straw modules provide an excellent buffer to algal proliferation by inhibiting the ability of algae to multiply. They are particularly successful in the reduction of blue-green algae.

Rafted reedbeds provide both shading and an excellent habitat for invertebrates such as water fleas which graze on algae and filter the water.

Restorer Systems are the latest development of this technology.