Boots on the Ground: Domestic Scale Constructed Wetlands For Wastewater Treatment

A presentation by Andrew Hellebust & Garrett Johnson at "High Performance Design Meets Boots on the Ground", Guelph, Ontario, 2023.

The presenters discuss the history and applicability of engineered/constructed wetlands as advanced treatment of wastewater on a domestic scale. Engineer Andrew Hellebust and designer/installer Garrett Johnson will discuss their experience with these systems in the past as well as the process of designing, permitting, and constructing a recently completed two-cell wetland filter for wastewater treatment in Lanark, Ontario. The process was not free from trials and tribulations. We will also discuss potential future applications and visions for small scale wastewater treatment.

Andrew Hellebust, President and Senior Engineer at Rivercourt Engineering, is a recognized expert in the reuse of wastewater effluent, natural biological treatments and constructed wetland design in small, communal systems. Long-term goals of his designs include providing water services with lower greenhouse gas emissions, maintaining a high capacity of water for ecological services within watersheds in terms of quality and availability, and optimizing nutrient and resource recovery and reuse to build soil, sequester carbon and make food production sustainable.

In parallel to his Architectural Technology studies and co-op work at Evolve Builders Group, Garrett Johnson has been working on a grant project to develop a comprehensive sustainable water and waste management system at Plenty Canada. This led him to become a registered On-Site Sewage system Installer, and to gain an ever deepening interest in how small-scale typically rural water infrastructure can influence large scale urban systems.

High Performance Design Meets Boots on the Ground ("Boots on the Ground") is a popular and dynamic speaking series by Passive Buildings Canada that brings together leaders from the design and construction fields to share ideas, networks and learn about products that get the job done for high performance buildings.