![]() Some of these activities caused contamination with persistent organic pollutants (POPs) such as polychlorinated biphenyl compounds (PCBs). The watershed has been impaired by mine discharge and tailings, smelter and smokestack plumes, and poor waste disposal practices. This project is focused on Torch Lake, an aquatic ecosystem that was heavily impacted from mining waste disposal. The Keweenaw area continues to be influenced by the copper mining activities that occurred close to 100 years ago. Michelle Bollini, MS Student, Environmental Engineering, Michigan TechĪ Kinetic Bioaccumulation Model for a Mining Impacted Aquatic Ecosystem In her free time, Rose enjoys working on community sustainability initiatives, hiking, gardening, and traveling. Rose is funded by the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program (NSF GRFP). She earned her BS and MS in environmental engineering through Michigan Tech in 20, respectively. On MTU’s campus, Rose is known for co-founding the Sustainability Demonstration House and leading the project for the first 5 years of its life. In the fall of 2021, Rose moved to Monteverde, Costa Rica to complete a 1-year research affiliation position with Monteverde Institute. Her research interests include water treatment in both developed and developing countries, nature-based engineering solutions, and community sustainability education. Rose Daily is a current graduate student at Michigan Technological University pursuing a PhD in environmental engineering. In addition to engineering a natural and effective treatment system, I develop a series of open-access tools and resources to aid in educating the local community on the greywater issue and biogarden development. In this study, I design and construct a biogarden system for the Centro de Educacion Creativa K-12 school, located in the Monteverde Zone, to effectively treat their greywater to compliance levels. While centralized water treatment is currently not feasible in this developing country, biogardens are an affordable, decentralized, nature-based solution to Costa Rica’s greywater problem that utilize filtration techniques, plant uptake, and microbial degradation to effectively treat greywater. The Monteverde Zone, located at the top of the Guacimal watershed, is a key player in this issue, as greywater discharged in this zone flows downstream, impacting a large number of communities. Although Costa Rica has established water discharge laws, a lack of enforcement and resources has resulted in greater than 95% of all greywater discharge entering the environment untreated, leading to eutrophication of waterbodies and an increased risk to public health. Costa Rica, a developing country located in Central America, is no stranger to this concept. However, the UN’s 2022 data indicates that six out of ten people globally lack access to safely managed sanitation facilities, implying that large amounts of wastewater enter the environment untreated. Goal 6 of the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals is to ensure global access to water and sanitation for all. Nature-Based Engineering: Development of a Biogarden to Manage Greywater Discharge in Monteverde, Costa Rica ![]() Rose Daily, PhD Student, Environmental Engineering, Michigan Tech Environmental Engineering Graduate Seminar
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