91视频

Reliance on state-of-the-art technology can lead to unforeseen costs, and the Eugene Water & Electric Board is paying the price.

EWEB opted for a $300,000 cutting-edge system to manage the wastewater generated at its new operations center. The innovative treatment system, which has been installed at a handful of facilities in Oregon, involves a delicate start-up period and ongoing maintenance, and some owners adapt to it more easily than others. Unanticipated levels of water usage contributed to EWEB’s decision to spend $55,000 to connect its facility’s pipes to Eugene’s conventional sewer system.

Ecological wastewater treatment, which uses microorganisms and living plants to clean wastewater, can drastically reduce water usage. And the innovation is growing in popularity as the technology advances. Both EWEB and the Port of Portland last year installed such living systems.

But while EWEB is still sorting out issues with the 鈥淓co-Machine鈥� at its Roosevelt Operations Center after one year of use, the Port of Portland’s 鈥淟iving Machine鈥� has been running smoothly, although it too required some tweaking.

鈥�(The Eco-Machine) wasn’t really working as well as we had hoped,鈥� said Lance Robertson, a spokesman for EWEB. 鈥淚t took us a while to figure out what was preventing it from working as was planned.鈥�

EWEB did not initially connect its operations center to the city’s sewer system, hoping that the Eco-Machine would handle all water treatment on-site. But the utility paid $30,000 to connect to the conventional sewer lines and $25,000 to add necessary system controls, according to Robertson. The center officially hooked up to the city sewer lines on Nov. 1, he said.

, the project’s general contractor/construction manager, also paid a small amount to connect the systems and was responsible for purchasing the meter, according to Robertson.

鈥淭he concept has very noble environmental goals,鈥� said Larry Banks, principal at , the firm that designed EWEB’s operations center. 鈥淏ut the owner of the system does need to go in with their eyes open and understand the ongoing maintenance effort that a system like this requires.鈥�

When nearly 300 employees at the Roosevelt Operations Center began moving into the facility in early winter 2010, cold weather prevented the Eco-Machine’s cultures from developing properly. Then, when workers from the facility’s maintenance shops washed their equipment throughout the winter, surges in water use overflowed the system.

鈥淭he term eco-machine implies something comes in on a truck and just works as if thousands are built in a factory,鈥� Banks said. 鈥淚t’s a bit of a misnomer. In hindsight, I wish we had more fully engaged operations and maintenance staff in discussions about maintaining the system during design.鈥�

The Living Machine, a similar system installed at the Port of Portland’s headquarters, also endured a rocky start. The system, featured prominently in the lobby and at the building’s entrance, went into toxic shock after a couple of weeks of use at full occupancy.

The microorganisms that aid the cleaning process can handle only a limited amount of activity at first. When the building became fully operational in May, the system was overwhelmed by waste from 430 employees, and the plants started dying.

Unlike the EWEB facility, the Port of Portland’s headquarters was already hooked up to the city sewer system. When samples indicated that the system wasn’t functioning properly, the port diverted the water into Portland’s sewer system and started feeding the machine powdered milk to reintroduce the productive bacteria.

鈥淚t was a good lesson,鈥� said Dan Gilkison, the port’s lead engineer for the headquarters project. 鈥淣ow we control how much (wastewater) we put into the system at any given time so the machine sees a constant stream, which is what it likes.鈥�

The system was back on pace after approximately two months and has since functioned smoothly, according to Gilkison. The Living Machine helps decrease water usage by approximately 75 percent in comparison to a similar-size office building.

The plants and organisms in EWEB’s Eco-Machine also have started to thrive, according to Robinson, and the system is still being monitored so that its effectiveness can be evaluated.

But some of the challenges both facilities faced can be traced to the fact that they introduced the technology into new buildings, which makes it difficult for designers to accurately predict the waste stream and water flows.

鈥淚n a brand new building, you can get surprised during the start-up 鈥� and you have to be prepared for that,鈥� said Will Kirksey, a global development officer at , the corporation that provided the system for the port headquarters. 鈥淚f you have an existing building, you can see what’s coming in so you know how to prepare the system.鈥�

Despite the challenges, people involved with the projects stand behind the technology and expect to see more of these systems installed in the future.

Kirksey cited a Living Machine being developed at the new headquarters for the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission. The wastewater system will be done in January, but construction crews will still be working on the building’s interior until the summer; by using the restroom in the interim, they will make the Living Machine more robust and better able to handle the transition into full occupancy.

鈥淭his is all a part of trying to be more sustainable and trying to do the right thing,鈥� Robinson said. 鈥淥ftentimes there are these technical issues that get in the way of that. We’re glad we were able to figure it out and get the thing running.鈥�