Water Storage Capacity of Wetland Used for Wastewater Treatment
Publication: Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 115, Issue 4
Abstract
Hydrologic considerations, such as the water storage capacity of peat, are critical in properly designing peatlands for wastewater treatment. Water storage capacity is estimated by measuring the specific yield of peat in a north Michigan cedar swamp. Field estimates of specific yield are performed by measuring the response of water table to rainfall. Specific yield, taken as the ratio of rainfall to water table rise, is found to decrease exponentially with depth, ranging between 0.4–0.7 for the surface layers and between 0.05–0.15 for peat layers at 0.5 m depth. A model predicting the water table response to rainfall is developed and successfully tested. Applications of the model in designing wetland wastewater treatment systems include computation of maximum wastewater quantity that can be sprinkled on a wetland before flooding and overland flow. Such information is critical in systems where optimum treatment is to be achieved when wastewater is absorbed into the peat matrix.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 115 • Issue 4 • August 1989
Pages: 822 - 834
Copyright
Copyright © 1989 ASCE.
History
Published online: Aug 1, 1989
Published in print: Aug 1989
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