St. James Parish Wetlands Assimilation
Meyer Engineers, Ltd. is designing an oxidation pond treatment facility near Vacherie, Louisiana, that will allow approximately 900,000 gallons of treated effluent into an adjacent wetlands area. Over 500 acres of wetlands will be assimilated (nourished) by the treated effluent.
Sewage will be pumped from the new oxidation ponds through a UV treatment facility and finally to the wetlands via a sewer force main. Meyer Engineers, Ltd is working with Comite Resources to design this innovative treatment solution.
As part of the project, Meyer assisted Comite Resources in preparing an ecological baseline study (EBS). An EBS is required by environmental agencies as part of all wetland assimilation projects to provide the project team with a pre-project condition, which is important for the team to compare against post-discharge conditions. For additional information on wetland assimilation benefits, please visit this link.
Meyer assisted with preparing and securing applications, grants, and permits required by the Army Corp of Engineers (USACE), the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ), the Department of Natural Resources, the Environmental Protection Association (EPA), and St. James Parish. Meyer also assisted with property acquisition and will be providing construction administration.
"A properly designed system can function for long periods of time because natural processes in the wetlands achieve water quality improvement. Using a wetland approach to solve wastewater problems would reduce cost and result in clean water. For example, the City of Breaux Bridge has discharged treated effluent into a forested wetland for over 60 years and the system is healthy and continues to result in greatly improved water quality. The basic principle underlying wetland wastewater assimilation is that the rate of application must balance the rate of decay or immobilization. The primary mechanisms by which this balance is achieved are physical settling and filtration, chemical precipitation and adsorption, and biological metabolic processes resulting in eventual burial, storage in vegetation, and denitrification." -Comite Resources Website
Substantial Completion Date: Under design
Construction Cost: $1,700,000 (est.)