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“Green lodging” encompasses industry practices including water efficiency, solid waste reduction efforts, energy conservation, and environmentally sound wastewater practices.
By Carol Brzozowski
In the past, a lodging facility was considered environmentally friendly by placing placards in rooms asking guests to save water—and thus graywater—by reusing towels and linens.
“Green lodging” now generally encompasses those entities in the hospitality industry—including hotels, motels, resorts, and bed and breakfast facilities—as leaders in environmental practices that include not only water efficiency and solid waste reduction efforts but also air quality, energy conservation, and environmentally sound wastewater practices.
Lodging facilities have become a logical place to institute environmentally friendly wastewater policies, given there are many guests generating waste in a more compact footprint. The reasons for lodging facilities to engage in environmentally sound practices are compelling. Consider the following: The lodging industry is the United States’ second largest employer.
For some states, such as Florida and California, revenues derived from tourism rank among the top sources of income. According to the International Ecotourism Society, US travelers are more likely to patronize hotels “with a responsible environmental attitude”. Seventy percent of US, British, and Australian travelers surveyed said they would pay up to $150 more for a two-week stay in a hotel with a “responsible environmental attitude.” However, only 14% of US travelers actually ask hotel managers if they have an environmental policy.
There is no umbrella national green certification program, although there are some groups, such as the International Ecotourism Society and Green Seal, that have developed their own certification standards for interested lodging facilities. Additionally, the EPA’s Web site lists a number of green lodging initiatives.
Against this backdrop, many lodging facilities throughout the United States have examined their own onsite wastewater practices and have opted to create systems that enable the wastewater to serve a higher purpose than merely being “pumped and dumped.” Case in point: Cheeca Lodge & Spa in Islamorada Village of Islands in the Florida Keys, a string of islands that runs southwest of the southern tip of the Florida peninsula.
The Cheeca Lodge & Spa sits on 27 acres—of which about 19 are landscaped—that include more than 1,200 feet of beachfront property and 199 guest rooms and suites, three restaurants, a nine-hole par-three executive golf course, six tennis courts, two swimming pools, and a whirlpool spa. The area is renowned as the “Sport Fishing Capital of the World” and its reefs attract divers and snorkelers.
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Photo: Smugglers’ Notch Resort |
| Treatment via biological processes is possible during a Vermont winter—inside. |
Bill Walsh, property manager for the Cheeca Lodge & Spa, says the private enterprise is one of the only in the Florida Keys with a wastewater package system capable of producing water for overhead use; two other municipalities in the Florida Keys do so for local golf clubs, he says.
Florida has mandated that by 2010, onsite wastewater treatment systems either must upgrade to meet stringent water-quality standards or be decommissioned, with the property hooked into a central sewage treatment system, Walsh says. Walsh says the portion of the village in which the Cheeca Lodge & Spa is located is not covered by a central sewage system and, therefore, the lodge utilizes a sewage treatment package plant.
The plant was installed in 1988 and modified in 1994 to meet the criteria for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP’s) level for use as overhead irrigation water. The plant modification was done by Zeta Technology in Stuart, FL. The onsite wastewater treatment system is a Class C wastewater package treatment plant. It features automated turbidity and chorine monitoring to meet the standards of the Florida DEP for overhead irrigation use.
The wastewater enters a surge tank and then is divided into two aerobic digesters before running through a clarifier. It then moves through a tertiary filter before it is directed to a clear water well and then is transferred to an irrigation pond or to a deep well injection system in accordance with state standards. The system is unique for such a small package plant, Walsh says.
“In most systems, the water that is of quality for reuse is from municipalities that have millions of gallons of water to use every day,” he says.
Walsh says because the Florida DEP requires automated turbidity and chlorine monitoring and daily laboratory testing of the water to ensure it has no live fecal matter in it that would cause problems in using it as overhead irrigation, it is more costly for the Cheeca Lodge & Spa to have the plant maintained.
“We have to pay extra to have a sample taken and analyzed in laboratory conditions daily in order to use this water, and we also had to install about $100,000 worth of filters and equipment to keep it up to DEP standards,” he says.
The onsite wastewater treatment plant at Cheeca Lodge & Spa is capable of handling 70,000 gallons, but the typical flow on the average 80% occupancy rate is from 45,000 to 50,000 gallons a day, says Walsh. The wastewater treatment system and its use fit into Cheeca Lodge’s overall environmental philosophy. The lodging facility hosts annual Earth Day events and has instituted such practices as solid waste recycling, low-consumption showerheads, and low-flow toilets in all guest rooms, as well as the use of biodegradable, low-phosphate cleaning agents and recycled paper, and dimming of beach lights during turtle nesting season.
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Photo: Holiday Inn Express |
| This onsite treatment system recycles 100% of waste through drip irrigation. |
“We live in an area of critical environmental concern,” Walsh says of the Florida Keys. “It’s been all over the news about the cleaning up of the Everglades and the different pollutants we have in the water in Florida Bay as far as high levels of phosphorus and nitrates that may be caused by sugar cane growers in Lake Okeechobee or corn growers in the Midwest or septic tanks in our area—probably a combination of all of these things.” It is the goal of Cheeca Lodge & Spa management to be a good steward of the environment, Walsh says.
From an economic standpoint, the cost of constructing and maintaining the onsite wastewater treatment system at the resort has been offset by a savings of $300 a day on its water bill. “Water here costs $6.85 for a thousand gallons, and on an average 365-days-a-year, seven-days-a-week irrigation program, we’re getting about 40,000 gallons a day from that plant, according to the occupancy of the hotel,” Walsh says.
Walsh says the importance of a lodging facility in an area such as Florida cannot be overstated. “We have the only living coral reef in the northern hemisphere and the third-largest coral reef system in the world,” he says. “The added nutrients to our water flow that comes into this area are very detrimental to living coral. This causes it to catch several different viruses and also to die off just because of other algae and the clouding of the water clarity required for the living coral.
“In our area, the tourists primarily come here to go fishing, diving, and enjoy the clear water we have, and certainly by using the reuse water in the proper manner, we’re able to save some of the freshwater supply and keep from putting any other pollutants back into the ocean.”
That approach goes for residents as well. “There are 18 million to 20 million people living in Florida and I’ve heard people in the United States use about 100 gallons of fresh water every day in their livelihood and people in China use about 6. Although the US is very lucky to have such a large supply of fresh, clean water to use, everyone needs to be more careful with what they are doing with it or they are going to deplete that supply.”
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Photo: Smugglers’ Notch Resort |
| The Living Machine at Smugglers’ Notch Resort uses primarily biological processes for wastewater treatment. |
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Photo: Smugglers’ Notch Resort |
Meanwhile, in Vermont, the Smugglers’ Notch Resort sits on 1,000 acres 35 miles east of Burlington in the state’s northern Green Mountains. Lodging options include more than 500 privately owned and timeshare condominiums. The year-round mountain resort offers alpine and cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, and snowboarding. Summer and fall activities include hiking and mountain biking.
In 1999, Smugglers’ Notch added Living Machine technology to enhance its wastewater treatment infrastructure. Living Machine technology utilizes primarily natural biological processes to treat wastewater.
“We had an old package plant that was decommissioned at the time and we wanted to retrofit it with a better technology that would be more suitable for our resort’s environmental initiatives,” says Seth Miller, who manages the wastewater department and the geographical information systems database at Smugglers’ Notch.
“We retrofitted the package plant with the Living Technologies components, so we are able to use something that was defunct, recommission it, and make good use out of it,” he says.
As wastewater influent moves through a series of aerobic-anaerobic bioreactor zones, each reactor creates an environment primarily utilizing bacteria that treats specific influent components. The system features a circular clarifier with tanks on the outside. The system is housed in a greenhouse to optimize the environment for the exotic plants grown there, such as taro, elephant ear, ginger, and a variety of lily species. The plants are arranged on racks in a hydroponics-type setting in each reactor. Oxygen and plants create an environment for the bacteria to thrive in an effort to increase wastewater treatment efficiency and eliminate the need for chemical additives. The plants provide a surface area for bacterial growth and the roots take in nitrogen and phosphorus.
The plants grown in the greenhouse are planted throughout the resort or employees also may take them home, Miller says. Some are used for the resort’s compost piles.
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Photo: Holiday Inn Express |
| This treatment site at a Texas hotel chain is required to have not just holding tanks but also onsite water disposal. |
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Photo: Holiday Inn Express |
Koi fish—which have become “fat and happy,” Miller notes—were added to the final clarifying tank to consume the algae that grows on the tank walls. They are most visible when oxygen levels are low.
Another factor involved in the wastewater treatment process is indirect disposal. The highly treated water is pumped to a 22-acre area into three different spray zones, which Miller says are rotated, with one zone activated each day. The spray irrigation is used to water nearby forest tracts. The water also is indirectly discharged into local water bodies.
The system is programmed to treat about 40,000 gallons a day, which is the average at the resort, Miller says. “That’s probably 30% of our flows, and basically the Living Machine—which is an activated sludge plant—is tied into a larger lagoon system, which also handles a component portion of the treatment for the resort,” Miller says.
The Living Machine greenhouse area adds an ambience to the area, and resort patrons enjoy the educational tours of the facility, Miller notes. Occasionally, the facility will receive a visit from a group like Outward Bound, which may be working on a project on sustainable development and is studying the wastewater component.
By having the Living Machine, Smugglers’ Notch’s is showing its commitment to the environment, Miller says. The onsite wastewater treatment effort is part of Smugglers’ Notch overall environmental approach that includes efforts to protect wildlife habitat on its grounds, the use of energy-efficient appliances and other electrical devices, recycling programs, emissions reduction, and water-quality and conservation programs.
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Photo: Holiday Inn Express |
| Unknown to hotle patrons, this lawn covers an onsite drip irrigation system serving the premises year-round. |
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Photo: Holiday Inn Express |
| Onsite systems attract tourists, thus boosting the economy. |
“The resort is willing to take the steps to promote environmentally sound technologies, and it shows we’re not just saying it—we’re actually performing it,” Miller says.
The State of Vermont agrees. Smugglers’ Notch is designated as an “Environmental Leader” through the Vermont Environmental Business Partnership program. “We were looking for a program to encourage businesses to improve their environmental management,” says Peter Crawford, director of the Vermont Small Business Development Center Regulatory Assistance Program. “There wasn’t much out there. We started with lodging because customers were right there and the feedback can be instant. It’s a total win-win,” Crawford says.
The program operates with two levels: The environmental partner designation is awarded for meeting a minimum level of environmental standards. A “green hotel” designation is awarded to those meeting more stringent standards, including an environmental management plan based on ISO14001. To date, 50 of Vermont’s approximately 700 lodging facilities are participating in the program. The voluntary program carries marketing incentives. The names of the lodging facilities are listed on the state’s “green hotels” Web site as well as on “green hotel” rest area cards, which are distributed at the state’s welcome and information centers.
Crawford says travelers are increasingly seeking lodging facilities designated as green hotels. “The rest area cards disappear from the rest areas, so people are looking for hotels that might be more environmentally friendly,” he says. “In general, my gut feeling is if there are two similarly priced hotels, there is a percentage of the market audience that would choose the more environmentally friendly one, as long as price was not the discriminating factor.”
Crawford believes that in order for a green lodging program to be successful, there has to be management and employee buy-in. “You need to have a team and a ‘champion,’ whom we call the ‘spark plug,’” he says. “If you don’t, things will lag.”
Crawford says smaller lodging facilities tend to have more enthusiasm for the program. “With the bigger ones, I’ve noticed with management changes, things come and go, including green initiatives,” he says. He cites one large hotel in Boston that was one of the first to start the green lodging movement, yet after a management change, “you couldn’t tell there had ever been anything green about it.”
As regions throughout the United States create state-based “green lodging” initiatives, part of the reason they are voluntary efforts is that it can get very expensive to get such initiatives instituted.
Since Smugglers’ Notch’s “Living Machine” project was a retrofit, it can mean higher costs because of the adaptation of an existing technology to something new, Miller points out. “But just in public relations alone, it’s had a good return on the initial investment,” says Miller. “It’s also doing a great job in treating our effluent.”
The system was chosen over other options because it is a green technology and made good sense, Miller says. “Also, the treatment characteristics are very strong,” Miller says. “Our permit levels for biochemical oxygen demand [BOD] and total suspended solids are 30 milligrams per liter each, and at a ski resort, our BOD can get very high—sometimes 280 milligrams per liter—and its treating can get it down to a 5 or 6, so it does a good job.”
In Salado, TX, Southern On-Site Solutions of Temple, TX, recently designed an Orenco AdvanTex onsite wastewater treatment system of two AX100 units for a Holiday Inn Express, located on 5 acres. Built by Sohns Construction, the system went into service in October 2006.
Texas ordinances stipulate that such properties cannot have a holding tank for permanent use but must have some type of onsite wastewater disposal, says Patrick Kern, president of Southern On-Site Solutions.
The system—which features a textile medium—is designed to make water up to 98% cleaner and significantly reduce nitrogen. The AX100 is a recirculating filter that’s configured like a recirculating sand filter—a packed bed filter technology.
The system has an average flow of 5,000 gallons per day and a peak flow of 10,000 gallons per day; Southern On-Site Solutions designed it for 4,999 gallons per day in keeping with Texas regulations.
All waste at the Holiday Inn Express is 100% recycled through a drip irrigation system that’s installed in an open field north of the hotel. “It’s a beautiful, green, lush field where the hotel’s guests can go; in fact, I saw them out there playing sports one day,” Kern says.
Kern says by installing the Orenco system, “it allows us to put lodging facilities in areas where there wouldn’t normally be facilities in the first place. Salado is a weekend retreat town, and without wastewater disposal and reuse, there wouldn’t be a possibility of having lodging in the town.
“In fact, that’s what has held a lot of development up in the town—the fact that everything is onsite wastewater systems. Now that we have the technology like we are using with the Orenco system, we’re able to take care of modern hotels.”
For Salado, that’s also meant more traffic in town and, consequently, a boost in the local economy. Kern says plans call for opening up another hotel 400 yards to the north with a similar onsite wastewater system. In addition to designing the treatment system, Southern On-Site Solutions also augmented it by installing an Orenco TeleComm (TCOMM) telemetry panel.
“We open it up every day and can know the exact flow and if there have been any alarms,” Kern says.
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Photo: Holiday Inn Express |
| Exposed pipe in this system gives little hint to the vast quantity of pipe underground. |
The TCOMM enables operators to monitor the system remotely in real time. If an alarm sounds, operators are notified via pager or computer, and an early alert system can give operators a heads-up of the potential for a possible alarm situation.
Southern On-Site Solutions monitors the hotel’s septic system closely through an onsite manager who takes pH samples once weekly. “Chemicals and cleaning agents will cause problems with the wastewater plant if we don’t keep our pH between 6 and 9,” Kern notes. Nearby Salado Creek is a body of water of large concern, Kern notes. “Fecal levels have been high in the past,” he says.
Southern On-Site Solutions designed the system to accommodate the town’s tourism nature. “The weekend traffic is a lot higher than the weekday traffic, so we put surge tanks in front in order to buffer the flows so we could equalize our flows and reduce the amount of drainfield that would be required,” Kern says.
In another project in town, the weekends are slow, but the weekday flows are large, so a system needs to be designed accordingly, he points out.
“You have to go in and analyze the town and their trends,” Kern says.
In the Holiday Inn Express installation, Kern notes “the flow equalization on that system has helped to allow a facility like this to go in by putting the bigger tanks in front and buffering it out.”
Kern says he’s in awe of the ongoing “incredible” changes in the onsite wastewater technology. That’s the impetus, he says, for many lodging facilities to “go green.”
Carol Brzozowski is a journalist in Coral Springs, FL.
OW - May/June 2007 |
