The frequency of on-site systems for treatment of domestic wastewater is
increasing with new residential development in both rural and low-density suburban
areas. Subsurface flow constructed wetlands (SFCW) have emerged as a viable option
to achieve advanced or secondary treatment of domestic wastewater. The pollutant
removal efficiency in SFCW depends on design parameters. Many of these factors have
been investigated while others such as aspect ratio, design of water inlet structure and
method of dosing the wetland have yet to be fully examined. This study examined the
effect of aspect ratio and header design on BOD5 removal efficiency as well as the
impact of flow rate on flow distribution in a SFCW. An aspect ratio of 4:1 achieved
10% greater removal of organic matter than a 1:1 ratio. Tracer studies demonstrated that
wetlands loaded at a constant rate of 3.8 L/min and 7.6 L/min experienced preferential
flow. In addition, tracer studies showed wetlands with leaching chambers as headers
failed to achieve equal flow distribution. An improvement in effluent water quality was
achieved by replacing the leaching chamber for a perforated manifold as the inlet
structure. This study demonstrated the importance of the careful selection of aspect ratio
and means by which water is introduced to the wetland in the design of SFCW.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:tamu.edu/oai:repository.tamu.edu:1969.1/2301 |
| Date | 29 August 2005 |
| Creators | Melton, Rebecca Hobbs |
| Contributors | Kenimer, Ann, Weaver, Richard W. |
| Publisher | Texas A&M University |
| Source Sets | Texas A and M University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Book, Thesis, Electronic Thesis, text |
| Format | 616150 bytes, electronic, application/pdf, born digital |
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