Jacksonville, FL
Satchell Engineering & Associates worked to design the aquatic Life Support System for Jacksonville Zoo and Botanical Garden’s Manatee River habitat. This exhibit contains three underwater viewing pools for guests to enjoy, and four back of house pools used for rehabilitation and treatment of the manatees, totaling to 330,000-gallons running throughout. The main purpose of Jacksonville Zoo’s Manatee River is to rescue and rehabilitate manatees, with the hope they will be released back to the wild after full recoveries. The exhibit is designed to hold up to 20 manatees at a time, increasing their intake capacity by three times.
The life support system that provides coarse and fine filtration for the entire 330,000-gallon freshwater exhibit consists of vertical sand filters, GAC filters, ozone disinfection, variable speed pumps, a deaeration tower, heat exchangers, chlorination tanks, and an automated control system.
This $72 million dollar project was designed with comfort and enjoyment for both the guests and the animals in mind, transforming the space in to a one of a kind exhibit. See Photo Gallery
