Arcosanti Waste Management

In the building of Arcosanti Paolo Soleri did not plan well or acknowledge the need for long term planning. Because of the seat of the pants type approach, we saw that many things like wastewater treatment were never addressed. In the case of the wastewater system it was set up without consideration of the fact that adjacent areas were to be developed. 

What happened as it went beyond its designed capacity it actually caused problems with the smell wafting up to those areas including the pool and guestrooms. Problems also emerged with the design reaching its capacity and beginning to overflow off the sides into the valley below. Nothing was done about this trickle for years possibly with the belief that the leak was minor and was not actually seeping into the aquifer. In considering any strategy for moving the project forward hopefully we can anticipate the restoration of this facility or its replacement with something that might be more appropriate for Arcosanti's positioning itself as some kind of model in the sustainable design movement and also with consideration to the reality that water and biomass nutrients are both in scarce supply in the desert where Arcosanti is located. 

There are some potentially exciting solutions available that could existing technologies in our extended network. In this case specifically, we could connect the Energy Apron Greenhouse project which is now on hold with a plan to develop a John Todd style Eco-Machine at Arcosanti to replace this unsightly pond. The replacement system would extend another phase of the proposed Energy Apron Greenhouses so that the greenhouses would abut the Sewage Lagoon or evaporation pond. Whats important to note is the unique sloped nature of the greenhouses are really not that unique. 

The design actually fits well with the typical gravity fed eco-machine system in which nature's processes are mimicked in a series of tanks each one reflected a more advanced level of natural bio-filtering. While things like flowers and other non-edibles could be grown in the greenhouse. Its possible a whole range of edibles could also be grown with the proper precautions. 

At the end of the loop the surplus water could either be further clarified and final polishing for potable use in drinking or greenhouse irrigation, for landscaping water Xeriscapes surrounding the greenhouses and the Guestrooms, as non-potable water for the flushing toilets etc. Its possible that a system like this could be designed to have series of benefits or purposes that might be designed to synergistically support each other. This could include experimentation with biogas production and aquaponics and the addition of vermiculture production into the mix. 

http://www.instructables.com/id/Organic_Hydroponics_Aquaponics/

Currently there is a conventional waste removal system that uses toilets and pipes to evacuate waste water - black and grey - into a lagoon. While originally designed for a living machine, the system was never completed and does not currently operate as was intended. 

A report was completed in 2003 that sought to identify how the Oxidation pond could be improved.

Its not commonly known but a report was done about the lagoon in 2003. 

This document is attached and downloadable from this wiki page. The report identifies several of the issues mentioned here and offers a framework for remedying the situation.