Influence of Key Design and Operating Variables on Dynamics of Pollutant Removal in Experimental Stormwater Constructed Wetlands
Publication: Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 143, Issue 7
Abstract
This study investigates the significance of key design and operating variables on the dynamics of pollutant removal in laboratory-scale stormwater constructed wetland systems. Results show that total suspended solids were effectively removed irrespective of design and operating conditions, with reductions generally in excess of 85%. However, nutrient reduction was variable, and it was influenced by the wet and dry periods (for nitrogen) and primary media used (for phosphorus). Chromium and nickel were effectively removed irrespective of the design and operating conditions. Comparable performances were also achieved for copper, cadmium, lead, and iron. Results further indicate that for most metals, the choice of wetland-to-watershed area ratio did not appear to have a significant effect on their removal except for iron. Overall, the most-effective configuration was determined to be the system that had blast-furnace slag as the primary media, and which receives regular inflow (wet conditions). Final recommendations for configuring such systems based on the findings of this study are included. These findings will further contribute to a greater understanding of the treatment performance of stormwater constructed wetlands systems.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
APHA (American Public Health Association), AWWA (American Water Works Association), WEF (Water Environment Federation) (2012). Standard methods for the examination of water and wastewater, 22nd Ed., Washington, DC.
Blecken, G. T., Zinger, Y., Deletić, A., Fletcher, T. D., Hedström, A., and Viklander, M. (2010). “Laboratory study on stormwater biofiltration: Nutrient and sediment removal in cold temperatures.” J. Hydrol., 394(3–4), 507–514.
Blecken, G. T., Zinger, Y., Deletić, A., Fletcher, T. D., and Viklander, M. (2009). “Impact of a submerged zone and a carbon source on heavy metal removal in stormwater biofilters.” Ecol. Eng., 35(5), 769–778.
Bratieres, K., Fletcher, T. D., Deletic, A., and Zinger, Y. (2008). “Nutrient and sediment removal by stormwater biofilters: A large-scale design optimisation study.” Water Res., 42(14), 3930–3940.
Burns, D., Vitvar, T., McDonnell, J., Hassett, J., Duncan, J., and Kendall, C. (2005). “Effects of suburban development on runoff generation in the Croton River basin, New York, USA.” J. Hydrol., 311(1–4), 266–281.
Caille, N., Tiffreau, C., Leyval, C., and Morel, J. L. (2003). “Solubility of metals in an anoxic sediment during prolonged aeration.” Sci. Total Environ., 301(1–3), 239–250.
Chau, K. W., and Wu, C. L. (2010). “A hybrid model coupled with singular spectrum analysis for daily rainfall prediction.” J. Hydroinf., 12(4), 458–473.
Ellis, J. B., Shutes, R. B. E., and Revitt, D. M. (2003). Constructed wetlands and links with sustainable drainage systems, Environment Agency, Bristol, U.K.
FAWB (Facility for Advancing Water Biofiltration). (2009). Biofiltration filter media guidelines, version 3.01, Melbourne, Australia.
Förstner, U., Ahlf, W., and Calmano, W. (1989). “Studies on the transfer of heavy metals between sedimentary phases with a multi-chamber device: Combined effects of salinity and redox variation.” Mar. Chem., 28(1), 145–158.
Hatt, B. E., Fletcher, T. D., and Deletic, A. (2007a). “Hydraulic and pollutant removal performance of stomwater filters under variable wetting and drying regimes.” Water Sci. Technol., 56(12), 11–19.
Hatt, B. E., Fletcher, T. D., and Deletic, A. (2007b). “Treatment performance of gravel filter media: Implications for design and application of stormwater infiltration systems.” Water Res., 41(12), 2513–2524.
Henderson, C., Greenway, M., and Phillips, I. (2007c). “Removal of dissolved nitrogen, phosphorus and carbon from stormwater by biofiltration mesocosms.” Water Sci. Technol., 55(4), 183–191.
Henderson, C., Greenway, M., and Phillips, I. (2007d). “Sorption behaviour of nutrients in loamy-sand bioretention media subject to different conditions (vegetation, enrichment and incubation time).” Conf. on Rainwater and Urban Design, Sydney, Australia.
Kadlec, R. H., and Wallace, S. (2008). Treatment wetlands, CRC Press, New York.
Kim, D. H., Shin, M. C., Choi, H. D., Seo, C. I. and Baek, K. (2008). “Removal mechanisms of copper using steel-making slag: Adsorption and precipitation.” Desalination, 223(1–3), 283–289.
LeFevre, G. H., Paus, K. H., Natarajan, P., Gulliver, J. S., Novak, P. J., and Hozalski, R. M. (2015). “Review of dissolved pollutants in urban storm water and their removal and fate in bioretention cells.” J. Environ. Eng., .
Lennon, M., Scott, M., and Neill, E. O. (2014). “Urban design and adapting to flood risk: The role of green infrastructure.” J. Urban Des., 19(5), 745–758.
Martínez, C. E., Jacobson, A. R., and McBride, M. B. (2003). “Aging and temperature effects on DOC and elemental release from a metal contaminated soil.” Environ. Pollut., 122(1), 135–143.
Metrological Office. (2016). “Met office.” Exeter, U.K.
O’Shea, M. L., Borst, M., Liao, D., Yu, S. L., and Earles, T. A. (1999). “Constructed wetlands for stormwater management.” ASCE 26th Annual Conf. Water Resour. Plann. Manage. 1999 Annual Conf. Environ. Eng, ASCE, Reston, VA.
Read, J., Wevill, T., Fletcher, T. D., and Deletic, A. (2008). “Variation among plant species in pollutant removal from stormwater in biofiltration systems.” Water Res., 42(4–5), 893–902.
Rieuwerts, J. S., Thornton, I., Farago, M. E., and Ashmore, F. R. (1998). “Factors influencing metal bioavailability in soils: preliminary investigations for the development of a critical loads approach for metals.” Chem. Spec. Bioavailab., 10, 61–75.
Saeki, K., Okazaki, M., and Matsumoto, S. (1993). “The chemical phase changes in heavy metals with drying and oxidation of the lake sediments.” Water Res., 27(7), 1243–1251.
Scholz, M. (2004). “Treatment of gully pot effluent containing nickel and copper with constructed wetlands in a cold climate.” J. Chem. Technol. Biotechnol., 79(2), 153–162.
Stephens, S. R., Alloway, B. J., Parker, A., Carter, J. E., and Hodson, M. E. (2001). “Changes in the leachability of metals from dredged canal sediments during drying and oxidation.” Environ. Pollut., 114(3), 407–413.
Taylor, M. (2006). “An assessment of iron and steel slag for treatment of stormwater pollution.”, Australasian (Iron & Steel) Slag Association, Hamilton New Zealand.
Walsh, C. J., et al. (2005). “The urban stream syndrome: Current knowledge and the search for a cure.” J. North Am. Bentholog. Soc., 24(3), 706–723.
Wang, W. C., Xu, D. M., Chau, K. W., and Lei, G. J. (2014). “Assessment of river water quality based on theory of variable fuzzy sets and fuzzy binary comparison method.” Water Resour. Manage., 28(12), 4183–4200.
Wu, C. L., Chau, K. W., and Li, Y. S. (2009). “Methods to improve neural network performance in daily flows prediction.” J. Hydrol., 372(1–4), 80–93.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 143 • Issue 7 • July 2017
Copyright
©2017 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Mar 22, 2016
Accepted: Sep 6, 2016
Published online: Feb 23, 2017
Published in print: Jul 1, 2017
Discussion open until: Jul 23, 2017
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.