Most visitors to the network of marshes and levees within Phinizy Swamp Nature Park don't realize they're observing a sewage-treatment program in action.
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"This time of year, we average about 3,000 waterfowl out here," said Gene Eidson, the president of the park's parent organization, the Southeastern Natural Sciences Academy.
The 360 acres of ponds and ditches attract throngs of birdwatchers and school groups hoping to catch glimpses of ducks, otters and alligators that have moved into the grassy wetlands.
But the wildlife sanctuary that evolved from fallow farm fields is a byproduct of a broader purpose: pollution abatement.
Augusta's Messerly Wastewater Treatment Plant, tucked between Phinizy Swamp and Augusta Regional Airport, has a long history of polluting the Savannah River.
In the 1990s, the city was given until 2001 to reduce its pollution problems or face development restrictions and huge fines from environmental regulators.
The solution was a $10 million experiment that substituted grasses and man-made marshes for the costly technology and chemicals normally used to transform sewage into clean water.
"The idea was to reduce ammonia going into the river," said Dr. Eidson, who helped develop the initial experiment. The first phase, covering 60 acres, was completed in 1997.
Since then, additional "cells" have been built, forming a patchwork of oddly shaped ditches and lakes interspersed with wild rice and cattails planted with a very specific purpose.
Treated sewage - 32 million gallons on an average day - trickles through the marshes and their lush grass. The process enables artificial estuaries and beneficial bacteria to cleanse the water.
Eventually, the effluent flows into Butler Creek, which empties into the Savannah River a mile away near New Savannah Bluff.
"What this has become is one of the largest constructed wetlands in the country," said Dr. Eidson, who often shows the site to visitors from as far away as Colorado and New England.
The wetlands have enabled the Messerly plant to improve its compliance track record, according to Georgia's Environmental Protection Division.
"They have done better, especially in the last year," said Marzieh Fhahbazaz, the manager of compliance and enforcement for EPD's municipal wastewater program.
The plant had many violations in 2001: excess ammonia from January to April; dissolved oxygen problems from February to September; and total suspended solids violations from March to December, according to EPD records.
The following year, ammonia violations were recorded in February, March, July, September, and November, and excessive chlorine emissions were recorded in June.
Last year was its best ever, Ms. Fhahbazaz said.
"There were minor ammonia issues in January and February only, and total residual chlorine was a problem in January," she said. "Other than a DO (dissolved oxygen) violation in March, that was it."
The exceptional improvements in 2003 helped the city do something it has wanted to do for years: be released from an EPD consent order that could impose major fines for ongoing problems.
"They had been under a consent order, but on Oct. 17, 2003, they had six consecutive months of consecutive compliance, so we revoked their order," Ms. Fhahbazaz said.
Although the wetlands aren't solely responsible for the drastic improvements, their presence has helped, especially with ammonia, Dr. Eidson said.
The treated sewage once had an ammonia limit of 17.4 parts per million, but EPD, under a more restrictive permitting program, reduced that maximum to 1.5 parts per million several years ago.
This year, Dr. Eidson and his colleagues are launching an 18-month study to determine whether the artificial wetlands can be made even more effective and perhaps longer lasting.
Submerged computers, a solar-powered weather station and other technology are being employed to gather more knowledge about the relatively new science of building wetlands to resolve pollution issues.
"What we already have here gives us a unique opportunity to look at how this system functions and how it can be made better," he said of the $79,000 study funded by Augusta.
The questions that will be answered include whether marsh ditches are more effective than marsh ponds at cleansing wastewater and whether the system can function effectively if several cells are taken out of service.
The artificial wetlands are designed to last about 15 years, Dr. Eidson said. Once they fill with sediment from decayed vegetation, they likely will lose some of their intended effectiveness.
The new study will focus on taking three cells at a time out of operation to enable them to recharge, much like a farmer whose crop rotation schedule allows a field to lie fallow every few years.
Later plans will include exploration of even broader projects, such as the recycling of treated wastewater for industrial use.
"If there was a way to send recycled water to industries, they don't have to use so much fresh water," Dr. Eidson said. "There is a lot left to learn."
Reach Robert Pavey at (706) 868-1222, ext. 119, or rob.pavey@augustachronicle.com.
