About 90% of California’s natural wetlands has been lost to agriculture and urbanization. Now, trying to educate people about the function of wetlands as well as to treat water, the San Diego Zoo is building a $12 million biofiltration wetland.
The intent is to teach about the various functions of wetlands, from flood control to absorption of sediment, nutrients, and other pollutants, and to highlight the different plants that remove pollutants and prevent erosion.
According to an article in the zoo’s magazine, visitors—mainly students—will be able to tour the water treatment plant at the zoo’s Safari Park, which treats about 70,000 gallons of water each day to be recirculated back into the park, then visit the wetland to compare the two different water purification processes. And it’s interactive: they can take water samples from different ponds throughout the wetland system and compare water quality at different stages.
An ongoing part of the project is to study the mosquito fish that live in the wetland—thriving fish populations indicate a healthy wetland system. Researchers will also monitor the water for temperature, dissolved oxygen, nutrients, bacteria and suspended solids.
What opportunities are there in your area for students to conduct hands-on water-quality testing—either through an educational facility like this one, or as part of a volunteer program to collect water samples?