Abstract
Constructed wetlands at a northern Sydney garden centre were evaluated for their efficacy for removing excess nitrogen and phosphorus within the site's internal water network. The original construction of the centre utilised the latest technology for water harvesting, storage and irrigation to ensure a permanent high quality water supply with minimum reliance on Sydney Water drinking water supplies. A series of artificial wetlands was built to assist in the removal of nutrients and improve water quality. The wetlands are effective at removing 95% of the total nitrogen (TN) and 98.5% of the total phosphorus (TP). Biological oxygen demand (BOD) also decreases throughout the system from 10mg/L to < 4 mg/L. Despite the initial success, a pump failure during 2007 resulted in widespread algal growth throughout the centre's reticulation network. Consequently, this study was designed to evaluate the sources and causes of the problem, to optimise the reed bed technology and to develop recommendations to mitigate future algal bloom events. constructed wetland; nutrient removal; garden centre; algae.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 98-103 |
| Number of pages | 6 |
| Journal | Water |
| Volume | 35 |
| Issue number | 6 |
| Publication status | Published - Sep 2008 |