Water reclamation is a process by which water used in houses and businesses goes down the drain and becomes wastewater, which is then cleaned using biological and chemical processes so the water can be returned to the environment safely to augment the natural systems from which they came. It is used today as both aquifer and stream enhancement strategy.

Living Machines are a form of biological wastewater treatment designed to mimic the cleansing functions of wetlands. Aquatic and wetland plants, bacteria, algae, protozoa, plankton, snails, clams, fish and other organisms are used in the system to provide specific cleansing or trophic functions.  As bioremediation systems they can also produce beneficial by-products such as methane gas, edible and ornamental plants, and fish.

The scale of living machines ranges from the backyard experiment to dependable public works. Some living machines treat domestic wastewater in small, ecologically-conscious villages, such as Findhorn Community in Scotland, and some treat the mixed municipal wastewater for semi-urban areas, such as South Burlington, Vermont.

The initial development of living machines is generally credited to John Todd, and evolved out of the bios helter concept developed at the now-defunct New Alchemy Institute. Living Machine is now a trademarked term held by Living Designs Group, LLC of Taos, New Mexico. Living machines fall within the emerging discipline of ecological engineering, and many similar systems are built in Europe without being dubbed “Living Machines.”