Constructed Wetlands for Wastewater Treatment
Wikipedia: Constructed Wetland
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A constructed wetland is an artificial marsh or swamp, created for anthropogenic discharge such as wastewater, stormwater runoff or sewage treatment, and as habitat for wildlife, or for land reclamation after mining or other disturbance. Natural wetlands act as biofilters, removing sediments and pollutants such as heavy metals from the water, and constructed wetlands can be designed to emulate these features.
Vegetation in a wetland provides a substrate (roots, stems, and leaves) upon which microorganisms that break down organic materials can grow. This community of microorganisms is known as the periphyton. The periphyton and natural chemical processes are responsible for approximately 90 percent of pollutant removal and waste breakdown. The plants remove about 7 to 10 percent of pollutants, and act as a carbon source for the microbes when they decay. Different species of aquatic plants have different rates of heavy metal uptake, a consideration for plant selection in a constructed wetland used for water treatment.
Wikipedia: Constructed Wetland |
Constructed Wetlands for Low-Cost Wastewater Treatment
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Constructed wetlands are marshes built to treat contaminated water. They have four key components:
* Soil and drainage materials (such as pipes and gravel)
* Water
* Plants (both above and below the water)
* Micro-organisms
Constructed wetlands purify the water that flows through them. Compared to conventional treatment methods, they tend to be simple, inexpensive, and environmentally friendly. Constructed wetlands may be used to treat water from many different sources:
* Sewage (from small communities, individual homes, and businesses)
* Stormwater
* Agricultural wastewater (including livestock waste, runoff, and drainage water)
* Landfill leachate
* Partially treated industrial wastewater
* Drainage water from mines
* Runoff from highways
Constructed wetlands also provide food and habitat for wildlife and create pleasant landscapes.
Constructed wetlands differ from natural wetlands in several ways:
* They remain constant in size
* They are not directly connected with groundwater
* They accommodate greater volumes of sediment
* They more quickly develop the desired diversity of plants and associated organisms.
Constructed Wetlands for Low-Cost Wastewater Treatment |
Engineered Wetland Wastewater Treatment System
In 1994, when Kettle Moraine Lutheran High School constructed a classroom addition to the school, the State of Wisconsin condemned the use of its septic system. For the next seven years, all of the school's wastewater was channeled into metal, underground storage tanks, which had been installed to replace the aging drain field. These tanks were pumped at least weekly and the cost became prohibitive as the school's student population rose.
Then in 2001 during a major building construction and school renovation, it was decided to install an innovative wetland wastewater treatment system and to remove the underground storage tanks. Discovery of perforations in the existing metal tanks were proof that we were making the best environmental decision by creating the wastewater treatment system and by replacing the old metal tanks with new concrete tanks.
Engineered Wetland Wastewater Treatment System |
Living Machine Systems
For more than a decade, Living Machine systems have been designed as Advanced Ecologically Engineered Systems (AEES) using a "natural-systems" approach to treat wastewater to advanced treatment standards. Living Machine systems are designed to take advantage of natural waste treatment ecology using microorganisms, small invertebrates (such as snails) and plants. These are combined into an aesthetically attractive system that provides the "look and feel" desired by the client.
Living Designs Group offers a number of treatment technologies, ranging from our signature hydroponics based systems to advanced "fourth generation" treatment wetlands. The systems we offer will generally meet tertiary standards (BOD, TSS, and TN) of about 10 mg/l.
Living Machine Systems |
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