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A Water Chemistry Assessment of Wastewater Remediation in a Natural Swamp
Author(s) -
Zhang Xiaowei,
Feagley Sam E.,
Day John W.,
Conner William H.,
Hesse Irene D.,
Rybczyk John M.,
Hudnall Wayne H.
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
journal of environmental quality
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.888
H-Index - 171
eISSN - 1537-2537
pISSN - 0047-2425
DOI - 10.2134/jeq2000.00472425002900060032x
Subject(s) - swamp , wastewater , wetland , environmental science , kjeldahl method , environmental remediation , water quality , nutrient , environmental chemistry , sewage treatment , biochemical oxygen demand , chemical oxygen demand , hydrology (agriculture) , chemistry , environmental engineering , contamination , nitrogen , ecology , geology , biology , geotechnical engineering , organic chemistry
Various aspects of water chemistry of a natural forested wetland were studied in order to determine the possibility of using the wetland for advanced wastewater treatment in Louisiana and to evaluate the wastewater effect on swamp water quality. The study was carried out by comparing treatment and control cypress‐tupelo forests separated by a bottomland hardwood forest ridge. The treatment area (231 ha) received secondarily treated municipal wastewater at a rate of 6.3 × 10 6 L d −1 . The calculated hydraulic detention time of the wastewater was 120 d. Electrical conductivity (EC), pH, and concentrations of 5‐d biological oxygen demand (BOD 5 ), dissolved oxygen (DO), solids, nutrients, and trace metals were monitored. Mean concentrations for the wastewater were 14.6 mg L −1 for total N and 2.5 mg L −1 for total P. The dominant form of N in the wastewater was NO 3 ‐N. The swamp system attenuated the NO 3 ‐N by 100%, total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN) by 69%, and total P by 66%. It appears that tertiary wastewater treatment was achieved due to the nutrient attenuations. Based upon our findings, we predict that the high N attenuation efficiency would enable the swamp to work well if the N loading rate were doubled. However, P removal was dependent on loading rate, hydraulic retention time, and temperature. The swamp was more efficient in treating wastewater during warm seasons than cool seasons. During the monitoring period, trace metals were not significantly increased in the swamp water because of very low concentrations in the wastewater.