Development of a Natural Treatment System for Stream Water Purification: Mechanisms and Environmental Impacts Evaluation
Publication: Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 141, Issue 11
Abstract
A constructed wetland type natural treatment system was built in southern Taiwan for stream water purification and natural habitat creation. The system influent (influent rate = ) was from the local stream containing secondary wastewater from hog farms. The system included a fully vegetated free-water surface basin, followed by an open-water pond, a second fully vegetated free water surface basin, and an eco-pond with isolated islands for natural habitat creation. The hydraulic loading rate, hydraulic retention time, water depth, and total volume of the wetland system were , 7.5 d, 0.64 m, and , respectively. In this study, surface water, sediment, and groundwater samples were collected and analyzed quarterly for each basin during the two-year investigation period. The results show that the overall removal efficiencies for biochemical oxygen demand, total nitrogen, total phosphorus, and total coliform were 71, 85, 82, and 75%, respectively. The calculated first-order decay rates for organics and nutrients ranged from 0.25 (total nitrogen) to 0.15/d (ammonia nitrogen). Thus, the system had a significant effect on water quality improvement and could remove most of the pollutants from influents through natural treatment mechanisms. The results show that the increased effluent suspended solid concentrations correlated with the increased chlorophyll a in the system, and the growth of wetland plants was an effective method for algal control. The observed high ammonia/nitrate removal indicates that nitrification and denitrification processes occurred simultaneously. An increase in pollutant concentrations in the last basin was observed because the last basin was used as a wildlife habitat. Thus, natural habitat creation might conflict with the water quality protection issue. Groundwater recharge from the wetland basins resulted in the deterioration of the downgradient groundwater quality. Contaminant adsorption onto the sediment particles was also observed. Frequent groundwater and sediment monitoring is a necessity to assess the impacts of pollutant accumulation in the ecosystem. The results from the ecological investigation show that increased biodiversity was observed. The natural treatment system has become a successful multifunction ecosystem, which could be used for stream water purification and natural habitat creation.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
This study was funded in part by Taiwan National Science Council and the Taiwan Environmental Protection Administration. The authors would like to thank the personnel at Environmental Protection Bureau of Kaohsiung City, Taiwan for their assistance throughout this project.
References
Abou-Elela, S. I., and Hellal, M. S. (2012). “Municipal wastewater treatment using vertical flow constructed wetlands planted with Canna, Phragmites and Cyprus.” Ecol. Eng., 47, 209–213.
Amin, A. K., Parvez, I., Zaman, M. B., and Amin, H. A. (2009). “Study of the present status of endangered small indigenous species (SIS) of fish in the natural waters of the north-west part of Bangladesh.” J. Environ. Sci. Nat. Resour., 2, 163–168.
APHA (American Public Health Association). (2005). “Standard methods for the examination of water and wastewater.” APHA-AWWA-WEF, Washington, DC.
Ariyanti, D., Abyor, N., and Hadiyanto, H. (2011). “An overview of biocement production from microalgae.” Int. J. Sci. Eng., 2, 30–33.
Ayaz, S. Ç., Aktaş, Ö., Fındık, N., Akça, L., and Kınacı, C. (2012). “Effect of recirculation on nitrogen removal in a hybrid constructed wetland system.” Ecol. Eng., 40, 1–5.
Chang, J. J., Wu, S. Q., Dai, Y. R., Liang, W., and Wu, Z. B. (2013). “Nitrogen removal from nitrate-laden wastewater by integrated vertical-flow constructed wetland systems.” Ecol. Eng., 58, 192–201.
Chen, C. F., Chen, C. W., Dong, C. D., and Kao, C. M. (2013). “Assessment of toxicity of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in sediments of Kaohsiung Harbor, Taiwan.” Sci. Total Environ., 463–464, 1174–1181.
Chen, S. W., Kao, C. M., Chien, H. Y., Fu, Y. T., and Chang, Y. I. (2008). “Use of a constructed wetland for post-treatment of swine wastewater.” Environ. Eng. Sci., 25(3), 407–418.
Chen, T. Y., Kao, C. M., Yeh, T. Y., Chien, H. Y., and Chao, A. C. (2006). “Application of a constructed wetland for industrial wastewater treatment.” Chemosphere, 64(3), 497–502.
Comino, E., Riggio, V. A., and Rosso, M. (2013). “Constructed wetland treatment of agricultural effluent from an anaerobic digester.” Ecol. Eng., 54, 165–172.
de Klein, J. J. M., and van der Werf, A. K. (2014). “Balancing carbon sequestration and GHG emissions in a constructed wetland.” Ecol. Eng., 66, 36–42.
Dhinadhayalan, M., and Nema, A. K. (2012). “Decentralised wastewater management—New concepts and innovative technological feasibility for developing countries.” Sustain. Environ. Res., 22, 39–44.
Díaz, F. J., O′Geen, A. T., and Dahlgren, R. A. (2012). “Agricultural pollutant removal by constructed wetlands: Implications for water management and design.” Agric. Water Manage., 104, 171–183.
Dordio, A. V., and Carvalho, A. J. P. (2013). “Organic xenobiotics removal in constructed wetlands, with emphasis on the importance of the support matrix.” J. Hazard. Mater., 252–253, 272–292.
Faulwetter, J. L., et al. (2009). “Microbial processes influencing performance of treatment wetlands: A review.” Ecol. Eng., 35(6), 987–1004.
Gikas, G. D., and Tsihrintzis, V. A. (2012). “A small-size vertical flow constructed wetland for on-site treatment of household wastewater.” Ecol. Eng., 44, 337–343.
Gunes, K., Tuncesiper, B., Ayaz, S., and Drizo, A. (2012). “The ability of free water surface constructed wetland system to treat high strength domestic wastewater: A case study for the Mediterranean.” Ecol. Eng., 44, 278–284.
Huang, L., Gao, X., Liu, M., Du, G., Guo, J., and Ntakirutimana, T. (2012). “Correlation among soil microorganisms, soil enzyme activities, and removal rates of pollutants in three constructed wetlands purifying micro-polluted river water.” Ecol. Eng., 46, 98–106.
Jing, S. R., Lin, Y. F., Shih, K. C., and Lu, H. W. (2008). “Applications of constructed wetlands for water pollution control in Taiwan: Review.” Pract. Period. Hazard. Toxic Radioact. Waste Manage., 249–259.
Jou, C. J., Chen, S. W., Tseng, K. H., and Kao, C. M. (2009). “Efficiency and ecological benefits of purifying Wu-Lo Creek with constructed wetland system.” Environ. Eng. Sci., 26(1), 97–102.
Jou, C. J., Lee, C. L., Fu, Y. T. V., and Kao, C. M. (2012). “Simulation of a long narrow type constructed wetland using the stream model QUAL2K.” Sustain. Environ. Res., 22, 255–260.
Kadlec, R. H., and Wallace, S. (2009). Treatment wetland, CRC Press, FL.
Kao, C. M., Wang, J. Y., Lee, H. Y., and Wen, C. K. (2001). “Application of a constructed wetland for non-point source pollution control.” Water Sci. Technol., 44, 585–590.
Kato, K., et al. (2013). “Performance of six multi-stage hybrid wetland systems for treating high-content wastewater in the cold climate of Hokkaido, Japan.” Ecol. Eng., 51, 256–263.
Kearney, M. A., Zhu, W., and Graney, J. (2013). “Inorganic nitrogen dynamics in an urban constructed wetland under base-flow and storm-flow conditions.” Ecol. Eng., 60, 183–191.
Liang, S. H., Wu, H. P., and Shieh, B. S. (2005). “Size structure, reproductive phenology, and sex ratio of an exotic armored catfish (Liposarcus multiradiatus) in the Kaoping River of southern, Taiwan.” Zool. Stud., 44, 252–259.
Lin, C. C., Shiue, M. L., Chen, T. S., and He, T. C. (2008). “Standard operation procedures for biodiversity monitoring in wetlands.”, National Science Council, Taipei, Taiwan.
Lin, Y. F., Jing, S. R., and Lee, D. Y. (2003). “The potential use of constructed wetlands in a recirculating aquaculture system for shrimp culture.” Environ. Pollut., 123(1), 107–113.
Lin, Y. F., Jing, S. R., Lee, D. Y., Chang, Y. F., and Sui, H. Y. (2010). “Constructed wetlands for water pollution management of aquaculture farms conducting earthen pond culture.” Water Environ. Res., 82(8), 759–768.
Liu, L., et al. (2013). “Effect of aeration modes and influent COD/N ratios on the nitrogen removal performance of vertical flow constructed wetland.” Ecol. Eng., 57, 10–16.
Lizama, A. K., Fletcher, T. D., and Sun, G. (2011). “Removal processes for arsenic in constructed wetlands.” Chemosphere, 84(8), 1032–1043.
Millhollon, E. P., Rodrigue, P. B., Rabb, J. L., Martin, D. F., Anderson, R. A., and Dans, D. R. (2009). “Designing a constructed wetland for the detention of agricultural runoff for water quality improvement.” J. Environ. Qual., 38(6), 2458–2467.
NIEA (National Institute of Environmental Analysis), Taiwan Environmental Protection Administration. (2004a). “Determination of metals and trace elements in water by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry.”, Taoyuan City, Taiwan.
NIEA (National Institute of Environmental Analysis), Taiwan Environmental Protection Administration. (2004b). “Method of river flow rate analysis.”, Taoyuan City, Taiwan.
NIEA (National Institute of Environmental Analysis), Taiwan Environmental Protection Administration. (2005). “QA/QC guidelines for environmental analyses.”, Taoyuan City, Taiwan.
Nikolic, V., Milicevic, D., and Milenkovic, S. (2009). “Wetlands, constructed wetlands and their role in wastewater treatment with principles and examples of using it in Serbia.” Archit. Civ. Eng., 7(1), 65–82.
Rahman, K. Z., Wiessner, A., Kuschk, P., van Afferden, M., Mattusch, J., and Müller, R. A. (2011). “Fate and distribution of arsenic in laboratory-scale subsurface horizontal-flow constructed wetlands treating an artificial wastewater.” Ecol. Eng., 37(8), 1214–1224.
Steeby, J. A., Hargreaves, J. A., and Tucker, C. S. (2004). “Factors affecting sediment oxygen demand in commercial channel catfish ponds.” J. World Aquac. Soc., 35(3), 322–334.
TEPA (Taiwan Environmental Protection Administration). (2012). “Sediments quality criteria.” 〈http://w3.epa.gov.tw/epalaw/docfile/140250.pdf〉 (Jan. 10, 2013).
Tu, Y. T., Chiang, P. C., Yang, J., Chen, S. H., and Kao, C. M. (2014). “Application of a constructed wetland system for polluted stream remediation.” J. Hydrol., 510, 70–78.
U.S. EPA. (2002). “Urban storm water BMP performance monitoring.”, Washington, DC.
Vymazal, J. (2013a). “Emergent plants used in free water surface constructed wetlands: A review.” Ecol. Eng., 61(Part B), 582–592.
Vymazal, J. (2013b). “The use of hybrid constructed wetlands for wastewater treatment with special attention to nitrogen removal: A review of a recent development.” Water Res., 47(14), 4795–4811.
Wang, W., Gao, J., Guo, X., Li, W., Tian, X., and Zhang, R. (2012). “Long-term effects and performance of two-stage baffled surface flow constructed wetland treating polluted river.” Ecol. Eng., 49, 93–103.
Weaver, M. A., Zablotowicz, R. M., Krutz, L. J., Bryson, C. T., and Locke, M. A. (2012). “Microbial and vegetative changes associated with development of a constructed wetland.” Ecol. Indicators, 13(1), 37–45.
Wu, C. Y., Liu, J. K., Cheng, S. H., and Chen, C. W. (2010). “Constructed wetland for water quality improvement: A case study from Taiwan.” Water Sci. Technol., 62(10), 2408–2418.
Zhang, Z., Cui, B., and Fan, X. (2012). “Removal mechanisms of heavy metal pollution from urban runoff in wetlands.” Front Earth Sci., 6(4), 433–444.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 141 • Issue 11 • November 2015
Copyright
© 2015 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Oct 18, 2013
Accepted: Feb 18, 2015
Published online: Apr 8, 2015
Discussion open until: Sep 8, 2015
Published in print: Nov 1, 2015
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.