Todd's waste treatment systems have been implemented for sites in at least nine countries, in both the industrialized and developing world. Sites include Australia, Brazil, Canada, Czechoslovakia, England, Hungary, India, Scotland, and the United States. A series of solar ponds, each with its own ecosystem, processes wastewater and uses recaptured materials to farm fish and to grow vegetables and fruits. These include papaya trees, eggplants, tomatoes, and herbs. Computers were introduced to monitor and study the processes of remediation, energy use, and food production. Heating and electricity needs were met using renewable energy sources. The system was enclosed within a greenhouse, designed by architects Sean Wellesley-Miller and Day Chahroudi, so that it could operate year-round. When the New Alchemy Institute dissolved in 1991, the Cape Cod Ark became the property of a private co-housing community. In 1999, it was taken over by Hilde Maingay and Earle Barnhart, two of the co-founders of the New Alchemy Institute. Working with architect Ate Atema, they upgraded the structure and added an energy-efficient house to the original greenhouse. Under their care, the 1800 square feet Ark became a self-sustaining home, supporting humans, plants, fishes and animals year-round. The Cape Cod Ark was still their home as of 2021. Having provided both an experimental testbed for New Alchemy's ideas, and a sustainable home for two of its founding members for over 15 years, the Cape Cod Ark has been referred to as "New Alchemy’s crowning achievement". It was officially opened by Prime Minister
Pierre Trudeau on September 21, 1976. The Ark was an attempt to re-examine the relationship between people and nature. Differing expectations about the project caused difficulties. Because the experimental nature of the Ark had been de-emphasized, the technological problems that occurred became particularly embarrassing. Also, many Canadians expected the publicly funded installation to be viewable as a demonstration project for renewable energy and
sustainable living. In contrast, the New Alchemists onsite saw it as a private research installation and tried to discourage visitors. In 1977, New Alchemists David Bergmark and Nancy Willis moved out, ending the experiment in sustainable living. The Ark was supervised for two more years by Ken MacKay, a biologist hired by the provincial government's Institute of Man and Resources (IMR), and then closed in 1981. the Ark has been called one of "Prince Edward Island’ s two most iconic works of modern architecture".
Harwich, Massachusetts In 1988, the town of
Harwich, Massachusetts hosted a four-month pilot of one of Todd's lagoon systems, involving 21 solar aquatic ponds and a constructed marsh. The pilot's success encouraged further involvement with Ecological Engineering Associates. By 1990 a full-scale project was being planned for Harwich's Flax Pond, a 15-acre site. The pond suffered from significant contamination due to
leachates from a nearby
landfill and
septage lagoons. Oxygen levels in the water were low and
coliform bacteria counts were high. Sediment deposits included high levels of
ammonia, up to 300 times the usual levels of
phosphorus, and 80 times the usual concentration of
iron.
South Burlington, Vermont The Vermont Advanced Ecologically Engineered System (AEES) was one of four AEES demonstration projects created with funding from the
United States Environmental Protection Agency. The site in Chittenden County, near
South Burlington, Vermont, was owned by the Massachusetts Institute for Excellence in Marine and Polymer Sciences, who received the grant. The project involved Living Technologies, Inc. as a subcontractor, and Ocean Arks International, with John Todd as
principal investigator. Project design began in 1994. The main construction was complete by December 1995, when the introduction of biological species began. A steady state of operation was established by May 1996 and continued to the end of 1999. The Vermont AEES included wetlands for the extended aeration and treatment of activated sludge, with an active microbial community as well as plants, invertebrates, and fish. One of the goals of the project was to examine the approach's usefulness in a cold climate. A greenhouse protected the plants. The installation contained two parallel trains of treatment tanks, for experimental comparisons of treatments. During the course of the project, the operators met all but one of the original design goals, and were able to improve on the original design as a result of experimenting with the tank configurations. The area was used as both an experimental and an educational center, and was appreciated for its "uniquely beautiful aesthetic experience". Due to the complexity of the systems involved and issues in communication, a number of design oversights occurred during planning and construction. Limitations in available space and placement of features obstructed wetland flow, a brick wall with no functional purpose shaded some of the tanks, and some of the plants were in areas that had to be traversed by maintainers. Such problems decreased the system's effectiveness, complicated its maintenance, and had to be addressed. Researchers also regretted that a single processing track was built, limiting their ability to establish parallel control and test conditions.
Omega Center for Sustainable Living The Omega Center for Sustainable Living (OCSL) in
Rhinebeck, New York, was opened on June 24, 2009. The building was designed by BNIM Architects, working with John Todd Ecological Design as the ecological architects. In 2010, the Omega Center for Sustainable Living was one of two buildings world-wide to be the first fully certified "living buildings", demonstrably achieving
net zero energy usage and net zero wastewater production over a period of a year.
George D. Aiken Center, University of Vermont As part of the green redesign of the Aiken Center at the University of Vermont, John Todd Ecological Design, Inc. supported the creation of the Aiken Center Eco Machine between 2006 and 2012. Much of the design work for the water treatment plant was done by Matt Beamas, one of Todd's graduate students, who presented his master's thesis on the work in 2010. In addition to treating all of the wastewater from the Aiken Center, the system provides opportunities for ongoing ecological design research at the school. The wastewater system includes three separate trains, for experimental study of the system's use. ==Recognition==