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| Copyright ©2009 Linda Gass. Photograph by Don Tuttle |
| Title: Treatment? |
| Dimensions: 30" w x 30" h |
| Artist Statement: Treatment? is an aerial view of the Palo Alto Regional Water Quality Control Plant next to a living marsh wetland. Here 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, in response to several severe fish kills in the bay; we used to dump our raw sewage directly into the water. These facilities are located on the edge of the bay for efficiency: our sewage flows to the plant in a gravity fed system and then minimal pumping discharges the processed water into the bay. The Palo Alto Plant removes 98% of the organic material in the wastewater – the source of contamination that once killed fish. Now the volume of discharged treated fresh water is creating new problems for the bay by diluting salinity – this facility processes 25 million gallons per day. The native species of the bay are sensitive to salinity changes and this discharge has modified the original salt marsh wetland to a brackish habitat. About 1% of the processed water is being used as recycled water to irrigate the Palo Alto golf course and nearby industrial parks. As our population grows we need to find ways to generate less wastewater and to recycle more of it through water conservation practices, gray water systems and dual plumbing. |
| 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: April 15 - September 11, 2011 Green: the Color and the Cause, The Textile Museum, Washington, DC |
| Status:SOLD |