MAJOR AND TRACE ELEMENT CYCLING WITHIN THE PASSIVE WATER TREATMENT SYSTEMS OF ONE OF THE WORLD'S FIRST LIVING BUILDINGS AT PHIPPS CONSERVATORY AND BOTANICAL GARDENS, PITTSBURGH, PA

Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens in Pittsburgh, PA is completing construction of the Center for Sustainable Landscapes, which will capture and treat all of its own water on site. The center is designed to meet or exceed green and sustainable building standards and practices: the Living Building Challenge; LEED® Platinum and a 4-star SITES Certification for landscapes. Collaborative scientific research between Phipps and NETL will monitor water quality variables associated with various water management systems on-site. These systems lessen the load on municipal sewage treatment and potable water systems, and include rainwater harvesting, a lagoon system for storm water treatment, a constructed wetland system for sanitary water treatment, rain gardens, green roofs and permeable paving. Chemical analyses of water discharging from each treatment and management operation within the facility are presented that identify the major and minor trace elements associated with each treatment or water management process. Plans for the future collection and analysis of water, sediment and plant samples collected within the water management systems to better indicate system effectiveness over time and space are presented. The efficiency of carbon cycling and capture within the treatment systems will be estimated based on chemical analyses, CO2 respiration, and stable isotope analyses. Plant- and microbe-based treatment processes are expected to vary in effectiveness as a function of seasonal variations in temperature and plant growth. The analysis of selected trace elements and nutrients within the treatment systems will provide more detailed information on the role and rates of biological processes in precipitation, conversion and immobilization of dissolved species of concern. The concentration and fate of water pollutants in treated water used for greenhouse plant watering that may influence plant growth, such as fluoride associated with treated drinking water, will be specifically determined in these analyses.