Who We Are
We build clean water systems for businesses and homes who are leaders in sustainability.
We build systems for people and communities who appreciate healthy reefs and surf breaks, effective solutions that benefit our natural resources & solutions that have low operation and maintenance costs.
Our scientifically tested, patented system treats wastewater to reuse standards with environmental engineering systems based on the properties of plants, soil, water, and naturally occurring microorganisms. The household system has been tested and meets Hawaii DOH NSF 40 and 245 equivalent standards for water quality and nitrogen removal.
OUR BUSINESS MODEL
Our team operates under a non-profit model focused on improving public health, coastal ecosystems including coral reefs, and creating circular economies that benefit local and small businesses. We believe in doing our part and supporting people working to protect communities from water pollution.
This model supports:
Local Circular Economies
Healthy Ecosystems
Social Resilience
The Bioreactor Garden is a constructed garden and biofilter which is placed downstream of a septic tank for wastewater treatment. Specifically constructed layers of sand and woodchips support efficient nitrification-denitrification cycles for nature-based nitrogen removal. Plants in the top layer of the system provide additional water treatment and removal.
Water comes into the bioreactor garden from a septic tank through a series of covered pipes. The effluent is held in the bioreactor garden for nature-based treatment, reaching a very high water quality before flowing out into the leach field.
Understanding Bioreactor Gardens
While these systems are based on simple, natural processes, the implementation requires expertise and precise technical calculations. For example, if you use a limestone media, you can create cement instead of filtration! In order to reach the standards for quality water treatment, precise and correct design, construction, layering, and system loading are essential to ensure proper performance.
Our Origin Story
According to the United Nations, globally 2000 children a day die from drinking contaminated water. Only 20% of the world has access to sufficient wastewater treatment infrastructure. Clean water is a basic human right, and should be accessible to everyone. This requires affordable, low-maintenance systems that can be constructed with locally available, readily upcycled materials.
Nature-Based Wastewater Solutions started as a programming arm of the environmental non-profit Ridge to Reefs. The team of non-profit engineers, soil scientists, ecologists, and our partners became focused on nature-based solutions for global wastewater challenges.
Today, we are growing our operations around the world and advancing certifications for green-gray infrastructure treatment trains. These systems are designed and built with leading science and powered by nature-based technology. We advocate for and work towards systems, collaborations, knowledge-sharing and partnerships to build affordable, accessible clean water solutions to help address global wastewater challenges.
“Water and waste: reduce and reuse.”
— IUCN 2017, Stockholm
“Re-using water and treating wastewater represents one of the easiest circular economies.”
— James Dalton, IUCN Water Program
“Why waste wastewater? Over 80% of our wastewater flows back to nature untreated. Instead of wasting it, we need to reduce and reuse wastewater, and make the water cycle work better for every living thing.”