Quantification and Scaling of Infiltration and Percolation from a Constructed Wetland
Publication: Journal of Hydrologic Engineering
Volume 20, Issue 10
Abstract
Efforts to prevent temperature increases in streams and rivers have led to regulation of the maximum permissible temperature for wastewater discharges. Hyporheic discharge treatment, where warm wastewater is allowed to infiltrate into the soil and percolate toward the stream, has been proposed as an alternative management practice, potentially providing increased streamflow at decreased temperature. To assess the feasibility of such a system, a pilot study was performed in which groundwater level, temperature, and chemistry were monitored to characterize percolation from a 0.15-ha infiltration wetland. The temperature patterns suggested that water seepage rates exceeded near the wetland, while the chemistry data indicated that infiltrated water had laterally percolated more than 100 m during the study period. The water level and temperature measurements were also used to calibrate a software model. Observations and simulations showed that the local water table became directly connected to the wetland. As a result, much of the water infiltrated through the wetland perimeter rather than through the wetland center, which implies that specific infiltration rates will decrease with increasing wetland size. This theory was tested using two approaches: (1) numerical simulation of a large-scale (5.5 ha) infiltration wetland; and (2) a water budget performed on an adjacent low-lying, inundated section of the floodplain, which due to its topography was considered to be an accurate approximation of the performance of a large-scale system. The water budget approach indicated a mean seepage velocity of , which was essentially equal to the predicted seepage velocity for a large-scale infiltration wetland of .
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Acknowledgments
The authors would like to acknowledge and thank Chris Gregory and Kyle Chambers for their collaboration throughout the project. The authors are grateful to Jason Smesrud and Mark Madison of CH2MHill and the staff of the City of Woodburn POTW—in particular, Curtis Stultz, Mike Arellano, Ramon Garcia and Jordan Garner—for their assistance in the implementation of this research. For author John Selker, this project was inspired by, and is dedicated to, the exemplary work and career of Dr. James Moore.
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Published In
Journal of Hydrologic Engineering
Volume 20 • Issue 10 • October 2015
Copyright
© 2015 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: May 8, 2014
Accepted: Dec 2, 2014
Published online: Jan 21, 2015
Discussion open until: Jun 21, 2015
Published in print: Oct 1, 2015
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