Do you remember that experiment we did in class? The one where we used a bottle to filtrate dirty water? Well it was quiet easy to make wasn’t it? All we needed was a bottle, pebbles and rocks, filtering paper, and dirty water! Now imagine this project in a larger scale; not much larger, but still larger. At least large enough to grow trees! This would be incredibly useful wouldn’t it?
We need more greenery! Jordan is a pretty dry place. There aren’t many trees around. Occasionally trees are grown by the side of the road, but sadly these trees don’t tend to last, whether they are destroyed by strong wind, snow, or eventually get dried up. Having “curbside rain gardens by the side of the road and on road islands will bring a bought major change. Growing trees will be cheaper than ever as they will be getting the water they need without having to be constantly watered resulting in high water bills. Not only will they be saving money, but they will be saving water as well. All the dirty rainwater running along the side of the road and going down the sewer drains won’t have to be wasted; it’ll be put to use! More trees will be planted than ever! The best part is that it is such a simple systems! Not only is it simple, but also it isn’t ugly either. It’s All happening underground! The only evidence of these systems are the pebbles above, which would most likely be covered with greenery.
Yes, these bioswales are being used in countries facing a lot of rainfall, and Jordan is definitely not one of those counties, but we do occasionally get rain, and the roads do become flooded, so really these bioswales could come to great use in Jordan.
I propose to have bioswales built around different areas in Jordan, but first only by the roads. Starting small is best to test the results of this huge conversion, but things can always be expanded. Not only will this project shed light on new ways to save water, it’ll encourage the country to invest their money on simple solutions such as these to not only save money, but resources as well. If this system were to work, homeowners may become encouraged to install this system in their backyard!
Main roads and water will become much more presentable, changing the image of the country, making it a greener, more beautiful, and green place, resulting in a domino effect, of improvements in the country. The country will be cleaner as a whole as dirty rainwater would not be flowing all around the streets. Money which previously would have gone towards water supplies could be saved, to maybe invest in other things, such as the cleanliness of the country, road construction, building parks, and so on. Tourism can definitely rise in result of all of this, as small things truly do matter. It is a ripple effect of one good thing after the other.
Don’t forgot trees allow us to breather providing us with pure oxygen, which is incredibly useful especially in a city, where air pollution very much exists, which is another issue in itself.
Maybe I’m not taking the costs into account? Yes, the cost of installing a bioswale is high. In NYC the installation of each bioswale cost around 13,000 as some supplies may be harder to come about, but this cost is not constant. Now overall these bioswales do save a lot of money. Another plus is the increase in tree purchases as result of bioswale installations in New York.
Based on the Bioswale design I researched I envision this Bioswale design in Jordan.
Citation:
Pre-research:
Why would you want something so ugly in your backyard? (water collection devices)
http://www.rainharvestmo.com/products/
http://www.rainharvestresources.com
http://www.rainharvestresources.com/More_Success_Stories.html
Bioswales
http://www.grownyc.org/openspace/green-infrastructure-toolkit/bioswales
http://www.nyc.gov/html/dep/html/press_releases/14-089pr.shtml#.VHUJ6EuRPwI