Grant winners start work this week.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
By Matthew Irwin
Jackson Hole, Wyo.-Two yearlong projects focused on environmental sustainability and funded by area nonprofit One Percent for the Tetons will begin this week in Jackson Hole. One Percent for the Tetons awarded the grants in August.
Yesterday and today, Intermountain Aquatics is installing an experimental wastewater treatment system in the Fish Creek watershed, and this weekend, Interconnections 21 will plant the first of 350 trees at area schools.
The residential wetland wastewater treatment system in Wilson is a collaboration between Intermountain Aquatics, Teton Conservation District and the Pomeroy Family. It involves adding wetlands to traditional septic-leech field wastewater system to reuse and further filter the water.
“A septic tank typically goes into the ground water – it’s got much higher levels of pollutants,” said Brian Remlinger of Intermountain.
“What comes out of wetlands, can be reused for irrigation, and what we don’t use will go as cleaner water into the leech field.”
Water quality data from the project will go to the state’s department of environmental quality to consider the system as a licensed stan
dard for wastewater treatment. As the installation and maintenance of the system is “cost-effective,” Remlinger said, the One Percent for the Tetons grant will cover the cost of monitoring water quality for a year.
The collaborative chose the Fish Creek watershed, Remlinger said, because data from the Teton Conservation District and the U.S. Geological Survey, as well as anecdotal information from residents, shows that the Fish Creek water quality has significantly decreased over the last 10 years, in part because of the more than 1,500 septic tanks on its shores.
Interconnection 21 has at least 20 sites picked out for trees to be planted throughout the year, according to the organization’s program director, Danielle Maloney. Locations throughout Teton County, Teton County, Idaho, and Lincoln County have already been designated.
“It’s a vehicle to raise awareness,” Maloney said.
“Our priority is to plant on school campuses as an opportunity to spread educational outreach, the role trees play in climate change.”
Students and IC21 staff will plant trees, Friday, at C-V and the Journeys School. On Saturday, Interconnections 21 will invite the community to celebrate International Day of Climate Change at Davey Jackson Elementary School with more tree planting, food and speeches by County Commissioner Andy Schwartz and local geographer Forrest McCarthy. JHW
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