GreenZone Infrastructure

In an ongoing examination of the aging infrastructure of the United States and search for GreenZoneSolutions to problems that arise as a result, I found an example of a small town in the Berkshires that when faced with violations of the Clean Water Act in 1972 committed to cleaning up the environment.

Think wastewater treatment isn't a critical infrastructure? Try living without it for a while as people in many countries around the world do. The process is complicated and there are several different approaches to problem of producing clean water from sewage and storm water runoff. But the treatment plant in Ashfield, Massachusetts developed a system that is amazing.

The Ashfield Wastewater Treatment Plant (AWWTP) is built on a hybrid of conventional and green infrastructure. It's so green in fact that at first glance one might even mistake the facility for a tropical plant nursery, thanks to the 10,500 square foot greenhouse cleverly (and beautifully) concealing 48 one thousand gallon solar conditioning tanks, a pond, and a constructed wetland.

The entire structure is practically its own mini-biome (my word) housing a banana tree, turtles & snails, fish, and a parrot flying free among a carefully balanced community of microorganisms, all working together to produce about 25 thousand gallons of clean water each day with a minimal amount of added chemicals and less byproduct than conventional systems. The whole system is an example of sustainable design in motion, not to mention good, efficient design (the plant runs with one fulltime staff member and a part time assistant).

But what makes the AWWTP a GreenZoneSolution is the facility's participation in the Massachusetts Water/Wastewater Agency Response Network (MaWARN), a mutual aid agreement between other water districts across Massachusetts whom agree to provide rapid assistance to restore services damaged by natural or man-made incidents.

Water and wastewater systems provide our communities with a life-sustaining resource that is of vital importance to maintaining public health, sanitation, and safety. When water and wastewater services are interrupted for extended periods of time, a community's well-being quickly deteriorates, as evidenced by Hurricane Katrina. And without adequate water supply, our communities are vulnerable to devastating fires. By restoring water and wastewater service in the most efficient manner possible, MAWARN provides renewed hope for fast recovery from such disasters.

Members of MaWARN also benefit from a streamlined process built in specifically for water utilities including:

• Eligibility for Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) disaster reimbursement - In case of a federally declared emergency, FEMA reimbursement for received services is contingent upon a pre-existing, signed mutual aid and assistance agreement.
• Timely access to resources - Some emergency aid is contingent upon a disaster declaration from a local or state official. MWARN does not require a state disaster declaration, which means systems can get needed resources faster. 
• It is consistent with the National Incident Management System (NIMS) the current standard around the country for all-hazards emergency management.

The Ashfield Wastewater Treatment Plant - providing a Renewable, Reliable and Remarkable community service since 1996.