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| Copyright ©2009 Linda Gass. Photograph by Don Tuttle |
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| Title: Treatment? |
| Dimensions: 30" w x 30" h |
| Artist Statement: Treatment? is an aerial view of the Palo Alto Regional Water Quality Control Plant (PARWQCP) where the sewage from several local cities is treated to nearly drinking water quality and then discharged into San Francisco bay. The region’s sewage treatment plants were constructed in the late 1950s and 60s, after several severe fish kills in the bay; we used to dump our raw sewage directly into the water. These facilities were sited on the edge of the bay out of engineering efficiency: all of our sewage flows downhill in a gravity fed system to the plant and then minimal pumping discharges the processed water into the bay. The PARWQCP successfully removes 98% of the organic material in the wastewater - the source of contamination that historically killed off the fish. However the volume of treated fresh water now discharged has created new problems for the bay. This facility processes 25 million gallons per day – that’s a lot of fresh water being discharged into the bay, thereby diluting the salinity. The native species of the bay evolved to live in the particular salinity and this discharge has caused a change from the natural salt marsh habitat to a brackish marsh habitat. About 1% of the processed water is being used as recycled water to irrigate the Palo Alto golf course and some nearby industrial parks but as our population grows we need to find ways to not generate so much waste water in the first place and to recycle more of it. There are many good water conservation technologies and gray water systems in existence now that we need to work on adopting more widely. |
| Materials and Techniques: Silk crepe de chine hand painted using remezol dyes and water soluble resist. Silk broadcloth backing and polyester batting; machine quilted with rayon and polyester embroidery thread. |
| Detail: Click here for a detail image of the quilt |
Exhibition History: October 8 - November 22, 2009 in Still Water, Dalton Gallery, Agnes Scott College, Atlanta, GA.
June 20 - August 16, 2009 in Seeing Green: Visions of a Changing Planet, Visions Art Quiilt Gallery, San Diego, CA |
| Status: Available for sale. |
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