Finding a balance between wetlands and water treatment Mar 7, 2021

Finding a balance between wetlands and water treatment

Take a stroll through the Wakodahatchee Wetlands and you"ll likely spot great blue herons, like the fluffed-up pair we"re featuring today. Located in Delray Beach, Florida, and created on 50 acres of wastewater utility property, the park first opened to the public back in 1996. A three-quarter-mile boardwalk takes visitors over ponds and through marshes, offering the chance to see more than 150 bird species, plus turtles, fish, frogs, alligators, and other Floridian fauna. Every day, the Palm Beach County Water Utilities Department pumps about 2 million gallons of highly treated wastewater into the wetlands. Then algae and other plants naturally finish the purification process before the water seeps back into the water table. Quite an upgrade from a yucky wastewater pond.

© Marie Hickman/Getty Images

palette

Today in History

Mar 7, 2018Chapel of St. Michel on Lake Serre-Ponçon, Hautes-Alpes, France
Mar 7, 2019March of the flowers
Mar 7, 2020Summer winds down in the Southern Hemisphere
Mar 7, 2020Summer winds down in the Southern Hemisphere
Mar 7, 2022Lake Tekapo, New Zealand
Mar 7, 2023Terraced rice fields, Yuanyang County, China
Mar 7, 2024Roques de Benet, Els Ports Natural Park, Catalonia, Spain
Mar 7, 2025Plum blossoms in China

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Nov 5, 2020A medieval Moorish gem
Sep 9, 2022Belize Barrier Reef
Jan 31, 2025Happy International Zebra Day!
Mar 31, 2022Happy Birthday, Eiffel Tower
Mar 30, 2020Spread some love with Bing
Dec 30, 2025Whooper swans, Kotoku Pond, Japan
Jul 11, 2025World Population Day
Jul 16, 2020Summertime in Alaska
May 26, 2018Honoring the first American woman in space
Apr 11, 2018Zhangjiajie National Forest Park in Hunan Province, China
Nov 16, 2019Mountain mists over Bavaria
Apr 27, 2022Midnight sun
Mar 13, 2023National Napping Day
Dec 1, 2023Antarctica Day
Mar 2, 2025Megalong Valley, Blue Mountains National Park, Australia
Mar 8, 2018Celebrate International Women’s Day
Nov 10, 202547 years of Badlands National Park
Mar 12, 2019The otherworldly red river
Dec 23, 2019A Festivus for the rest of us
Dec 7, 2023National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day
Sep 1, 2024Totally Thames Festival, London
Apr 4, 2021A yearly sign that spring has sprung
Dec 11, 2019In the Himalayas for International Mountain Day
Jul 28, 2019Road-trip worthy attraction in the heartland
Sep 27, 2023Via Krupp, Capri, Italy
Jun 28, 2023Pride Month
Sep 15, 2018A Latino art exhibition in Denver
Aug 7, 2023National Lighthouse Day
May 18, 2025International Museum Day
Jan 21, 2026Squirrel Appreciation Day