Immediate answers to your wastewater problem...
long-term investment in water

These systems take advantage of plants' requirements for water and nutrients to grow away pollution through evapotranspiration - with no discharge or drainage to the ground.

ECOCYCLET is readily adapted to maximize year round performance.

ECOCYCLETs are closed-loop systems that use innovative technologies, combined with a lined shallow bed of sand, crushed stone and gravel, and specified plantings. Effluent from septic tanks, greywater, composting toilet leachate or urine from separating toilets are re-circulated through the bed. There, naturally occurring micro-organisms convert the chemical constituents of the wastewater into nutrients for plant growth. Capacity design, evaporation, and sublimation ensure effective performance throughout the winter.

Installations may be configured to be open, roofed or enclosed in a greenhouse. ECOCYCLETs are customized not only by size, but also by adaptations to accommodate topography and aesthetic preference. They are appropriate for new or retrofit construction, or for replacing existing systems.

THE STORY OF ECOCYCLET

For almost twenty years, the folks at CSW, and the large lake association from which we evolved, have been concerned about contamination of surface and groundwater by septic tile beds located near lakes and rivers.

We now know that septic systems, the conventional technology for dealing with domestic wastewater in rural Canada, are often part of the problem! Even with approved setbacks from shorelines, their threat to source water remains. Septic beds - including those installed to code and functioning properly - can leach nutrients and pathogens, which eventually make their way to ground or surface water, posing risks to the environment and human health.

Holding tanks have lost favour and are at best an option of last resort, since they require frequent pump-outs and off-site treatment or dumping. This is becoming more and more costly, as well as impacting on the environs where untreated sewage may be dumped.

Environmentally conscious installers themselves are looking for ecologically safe alternatives. Concerns for groundwater protection, once focused in Canada’s lake country, now stretch inland in all directions.

With water quality a foremost issue of our time, and 'source water protection' a watchword, it is time to look seriously at ZeroDischarge wastewater systems. ECOCYCLET offers a natural year-round solution to rural wastewater that protects both public health and the environment.

Visit Canada's prototype ECOCYCLET on the grounds of our head office at 14 Water Street, Portland, Ontario, or contact et@watersheds.ca.

CSW holds the Canadian licence for these patented technologies. The American licence-holder is ECOCYCLET ZeroDischarge Wastewater Systems.

How does it work?

Plants depend on photosynthesis and evapotranspiration(ET). The ECOCYCLET is designed to maximize these natural processes very cost-effectively, while ensuring protection from the degradation of our shared, but finite, water supplies. In the off-seasons of our climate, evaporation and capacity design have proven to be powerful factors boosting performance.

You do not have to be a gardener to reap the harvest. The watering system is replenished automatically, every time you use household drains!

Wastewater, a Beautiful Thing

The ECOCYCLET is part of a new approach to looking at wastewater treatment by harnessing the power of ecosystem processes. There is no waste in natural systems; energy and nutrient use is cyclical - waste of one organism is food for another. By providing an environment for these systems to thrive, we can develop more effective and resilient treatment. And beautiful flowers, grasses, shrubs or valuable biomass are the dividends - in the rockiest of terrains!

The Ecological Engineering Group

The ECOCYCLET is a bio-engineered system whose technologies were developed and licensed by David Del Porto of the Ecological Engineering Group in Concord, MA, from a concept originally conceived and tested by University of Toronto environmental engineering professor, Alfred Bernhart. The system was approved in Massachusetts in1995. Patents have been secured in the U.S. on the complete range of technologies essential to the ECOCYCLET.

The Ecological Engineering Group is an innovative company, based out of Massachusetts, that researches, designs, and installs a variety of systems to treat wastewater by working with, instead of against, nature. They have implemented numerous solutions based on water conservation and pollution prevention, including rain water catchments, stormwater treatment, large scale and advanced wastewater treatment, and zero-discharge systems.

David Del Porto, principal of the Ecological Engineering Group, is also co-author of The Composting Toilet System Book, a comprehensive look at over 40 different systems, with tips on installation and maintenance - a must-have for those considering a composting toilet or a separating toilet, to help reduce their wastewater impact.

Permits

Our Portland, Ontario, site was approved by the local municipal authority, and the process may differ in other parts of the country. As with any wastewater system, owing to local variations, it is advisable at the start to seek engineering assistance when designing an application. Along with a reputable local installer, this also facilitates the approval process. CSW is happy to work with end-users, engineers, designers, approval agencies, and installers anywhere in Canada.

Installations

CSW has the Canadian rights to develop and distribute ECOCYCLET ZeroDischarge wastewater technologies. We are willing to facilitate installations or assist with the development of pilot projects, large or small, in various climates coast to coast.

Research

The first of its kind in Canada, this prototype installation also functions as a research centre, in partnership with Dr. Bruce Anderson of the Department of Civil Engineering at Queen's University in Kingston.

Information & Links

• Ecological Engineering Group
• "Growing Away Wastewater", an article by Carol Steinfeld and Ecological Engineering Group's David Del Porto, from the January 2004 edition of Landscape Architecture magazine.
• The Composting Toilet System Book, authored by David Del Porto and Carol Steinfeld
• Dr. Bruce Anderson, Department of Civil Engineering, Queen's University