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Constructed Wetland
Constructed Wetland
pp 621-628
ABSTRACT
Two constructed wetland systems, treating domestic wastewater, are compared in terms of performance and costs. One is a
free water surface (FWS) wetland system located in Pompia, Crete, south Greece, and the other one is a vertical subsurface
flow (VSF) wetland system located in Gomati, Chalkidiki, north Greece. The FWS system is designed for 1200 p.e. Its
construction cost was 305,000, and the capital, operation and maintenance cost was 22.07 p.e.-1 yr-1 or 0.50 m-3 of
influent. The VSF system is designed for 1000 p.e. Its construction cost was 410,850, and the capital, operation and
maintenance cost was 36.81 p.e.-1 yr-1 or 0.56 m-3 of influent. Both systems achieved high removal rates for BOD5, COD,
TSS, TKN, phosphorus, TC, and FC, which makes them ideal for small communities in the Mediterranean region.
Keywords: Free-water surface constructed wetland, vertical subsurface flow constructed wetland, treatment performance,
construction cost; operation cost
INTRODUCTION
applying
constructed
wetland
technology
in
the
Mediterranean
Descriptions,
constituent
regions
design
removal
and
specifically
considerations,
performance,
in
Greece.
construction
and
operation
cost,
and
treatment capacities.
cost data for CW systems are also limited (e.g., [16]). The
621
FWS system
The main components of the FWS system are [20]: (a) a
the summer 22 C.
the inlet of each basin using manifolds); (c) two chambers, one
in each basin, for regulating the water level; (d) small pumps
VSF system
inlet of the first basin; (e) a compost filter for odor control in
planted late in the winter of the same year, and due to the
VSF circular basin (4 cells, 640 m2, sand and gravel fill, 1 m
deep); (g) a stage II VSF circular basin (4 cells, 360 m2, sand
height.
and gravel fill, 1 m deep); (h) a stage III rectangular HSF cell
(800 m2, sand and gravel fill, 0.5 m deep); (f) a VSF circular
facility are [20]: population served 1200 p.e.; mean daily flow
rate 144 m
-1
Figure 1.
-1
d ;
sludge for drying and storage. All wetland basins are planted
622
with Phragmites australis. The HSF cell was not planted at the
time of the study and was out of the wastewater stream. The
of
statistical
parameters
of
measured
constituent
used. Since the FWS system was constructed in 1999 and the
stage III HSF basin (not in operation now). The effluent of the
were obtained for the operation time periods from the records
of the local authorities operating the two facilities, and were
RESULTS
System Performance
FWS system
l-1.
along the FWS system (i.e., inlet, settling tank outflow and
1999 to August 2003, and along the VSF system (i.e., inlet,
Table 1.
Measured concentrations of BOD (mg l-1), COD (mg l-1), TSS (mg l-1), TKN (mg l-1), and TP (mg l-1) in the influent
(IN), the septic tank effluent (SE) and the final effluent (FE), and overall efficiency (TE, %) for the FWS system in
Pompia, Crete, Greece.
Parameter
BOD
IN
SE FE
COD
TE
mg l-1
IN
SE
FE
mg l-1
TKN
TSS
TE
IN
SE
FE
mg l-1
TE
IN
SE
FE
mg l-1
TP
TE
IN
SE
FE
mg l-1
TE
%
Average
165
39 7.7
94.4
455
100
18
96.1 191
36
5.6
95.5 38
25
18
52.5 13
9.1
6.2
53.1
Std. Error
31
4.0 1.3
1.0
31
9.8
2.7
0.5
40
5.4
0.8
0.9
3.4
1.7
1.7
4.8
1.5
1.3
1.1
4.7
Min
52
11 2.0
86.5
280
44
2.0
92.7 38
4.0
1.0
86.8 17
8.0
4.0
23.1 4.8
2.3
1.6
10.6
Max
540
60 16
99.1
798
180
40
99.6 720
90
12
99.3 62
36
27
83.1 24
22
21
78.5
# of Data
14
14 15
14
17
18
18
17
18
18
17
18
18
17
18
18
17
17
623
17
17
FWS system
actual capital cost for the FWS system was 305,000 (prices of
BOD5, COD, TSS, TKN and TP in the final effluent for the
(287.18 p.e.-1) using the 3.1 % inflation rate. This cost also
satisfactory, considering that the facility was still new and the
relatively high cost. This work was also unnecessary. The net-
Table 2.
Measured concentrations of BOD (mg l-1), COD (mg l-1), TSS (mg l-1), TKN (mg l-1) and TP(mg l-1) in the influent (IN),
the settling tank effluent (STE), the VSF effluent (VSF) and overall efficiency (TE, %) for the VSF system in Gomati,
Chalkidiki, Greece.
Parameter
BOD
IN
COD
STE VSF
TE
mg l-1
IN
TSS
STE VSF
mg l-1
TE
IN
TKN
STE VSF
mg l-1
TE
IN
TP
STE VSF TE
mg l-1
IN
STE VSF TE
mg l-1
Average
485 193
39
92
626
243
62
89
1077
208
95
77
51
14
77 17.5
8.2
5.6
62
Std. Error
246 111
29
260
119
31
1784
474
13
47
50
20
9.0
3.9
3.1
22
Min
62
10
78
238
96
81
26
23
75
31
7.5
4.3
2.4
24
Max
819 355
92
100
1171
465
106
100
7060
2158
47
100
187
251
# of Data
20
19
20
20
20
19
20
20
20
19
20
20
20
19
20
Table 3.
Cost category
FWS System
VSF System
344,615
410,850
287.18
410.85
Net-present-value cost
25,036
29,848
1,445
6,960
1.20
6.96
0.03
0.11
26,481
36,808
22.07
36.81
0.50
0.56
624
20
cost and O&M cost are added to a total annual cost of 26,481,
and the mean figures become 22.07 p.e.-1 yr-1 or 0.50 m-3 of
influent.
VSF system
summarized as follows.
Design problems
This construction cost also included costs for access road (250
feeds the first stage of the VSF cells (Fig. 1). The dimensions of
siphon floods two cells at a time, i.e., 320 m2, therefore, the
operation cost for the VSF system (for the first 10 months of
Figure 2.
625
Constructions problems
last stage (HSF), which was not perfectly level in the lateral to
Figure 3.
626
design flow rate (180 m3 d-1 vs. 144 m3 d-1), and at lower
d.
land area (in this economic analysis the price of land was not
the FWS system may freeze for a few days in the winter, if
e.
a.
important.
b.
less for the FWS system, and land requirements are quite
lower for the VSF system. Thus, one can select either system
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
c.
II PYTHAGORAS II.
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