Project history

In the spring of 2012, the Sewanee Utility District reached out to graduate students from the University of Georgia’s Environmental Law Practicum to determine the feasibility, design considerations, and costs associated with a constructed a pilot wastewater treatment wetland. In cooperation with faculty and undergraduates at Sewanee: The University of the South, an extensive support document was created - which highlighted issues such a preliminary wetland design and regulatory impacts.

In 2014, Sewanee: The University of the South received a grant from the Coca-Cola Foundation which would help fund the construction of our wetlands. After years of planning and finalizing the wetland design, the University's contractors Golder Associates and Griffin Environmental Consulting started building the wetland in early 2016. Construction was finished that June and the wetland started operating that same month.

In the following years, a monitoring program was established and implemented. Sewanee students are able to gain hands-on research experience while providing meaningful data that is vital to the success of this project. Simultaneously, educational and public relations material about the wetlands were created and dissipated.

The monitoring program continues to this day with an ever expanding focus of research. Our wetlands have proven to be an effective tool of wastewater treatment, and we hope to serve as consultants for other rural utility districts which hope to construct their own wetlands!