INDONESIA, Bali - July 2002
Wastewater garden at Tirtagangga Water Palace
Click photo to enlarge
The island of Bali lies within the archipelagic nation of Indonesia. Over one million foreign tourists visit the "Island of the Gods" each year to see the beauty and unique culture of the island's 3.5 million inhabitants. The local government's waste management services are not adequate to handle the heavy volume of waste generated through tourism. Tirtagangga (Tirta=holy water and Gangga= Ganges river) was built in 1948 by the last king of Karangasem in one of Bali's most beautiful sites. The palace is made up of gardens and spring-fed fountains, ponds and a formal bathing pool. The solid and liquid waste generated by up to 200 visitors a day is negatively impacting the water quality throughout the surrounding area. Seacology has assisted the Planetary Coral Reef Foundation in implementing a wastewater garden system that organically breaks down wastewater and produces a rich habitat for vegetation. The wastewater garden will serve as a model for local governments, and will assist a local resident group (Tirtagangga Community Organization) in their efforts to clean up local water supplies.*
UPDATE July 2004 - In 2003, the community bath house and wastewater system was completed. The garden's facilities are heavily used by both local people and tourists. Plants in the system continue to thrive, signifying the effectiveness of the treatment of the wastewater. Pollution of the local water channels flowing from Tirtagangga has been reduced and the attention drawn to the success of the wastewater garden has increased public awareness of the surrounding environment. A Seacology delegation visited the site in October 2002.
*Support for asterisked projects is provided fully or in part by: 
