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Assessing the performance of constructed wetland for water quality management of a Southern Mediterranean river
Author(s) -
Abi Saab Marie Therese,
Jammoul Doha,
Makhlouf Hassane,
Fahed Salim,
Lebbous Nada,
Hajjar Celine,
Abi Saad Roula,
Younes Mohamed,
Hajj Mohamad,
Todorovic Mladen
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
water and environment journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.437
H-Index - 37
eISSN - 1747-6593
pISSN - 1747-6585
DOI - 10.1111/wej.12348
Subject(s) - effluent , environmental science , pollutant , pollution , water quality , wetland , mediterranean climate , environmental engineering , constructed wetland , contamination , water pollution , environmental chemistry , wastewater , hydrology (agriculture) , ecology , chemistry , geotechnical engineering , biology , engineering
Most of Southern Mediterranean water courses suffer from numerous types of pollution. This study presents a comprehensive performance assessment of a pilot CW system for removing various contaminants from the Litani River, Lebanon. The physico‐chemical, pathogens and trace metal parameters were analyzed for river water as well as for the wetland effluent. Results revealed that the average removal efficiencies were 87.01% for COD, 64.99% for BOD 5 , 86.18% for TSS, 43.11% for NO 3 N, 34.82% for NH 4 N, 55.07% for PO 4 P and 73.05% for K. The removal efficiency of faecal coliforms was around 99.84%. Influent and effluent heavy metal pollution (Cu, Pb, As and Ni) concentrations greatly exceeded the range of the environmental limit values due to industrial emissions in river water. CWs seem to be a promising green technology for Lebanon for the reduction of bacterial contamination. Further studies are required to improve treatment modules for different pollutants, including metals.