Clogging in horizontal subsurface flow constructed wetlandsmesures, design factors and prevention strategies

Abstract

Constructed wetlands are alternative systems to conventional wastewater treatment for small communities (up to 2000 PE). This is mainly due to that operation and maintenance costs are reduced. Despite the advantages, the clogging of the bed is the most important trouble encountered by the managers of subsurface flow wetlands treatment systems. The solids accumulation in the interstitial spaces of the gravel over time causes the decrease of both, hydraulic conductivity and porosity. This leads in the development of preferential paths and short-circuiting of the water through the wetland, which converge in overland flow and contaminant removal efficiency decrease. Therefore, clogging is the main limiting factor of the life span of a subsurface flow constructed wetland. The strategies to reverse clogging imply important economic investments. Generally, the most widespread option is the replacement of gravel. Hence the need to measure realibly the degree of clogging of a system in order to identify the factors that influence this phenomenon and to search new configurations and strategies to delay its progress, thus operations needed to reverse it. Therefore, the aims of this thesis must contribute to establish new design criteria and operation of horizontal subsurface flow constructed wetlands to minimize clogging processes without reducing the contaminant removal efficiency. Then, the objectives were to compare a method to measure hydraulic conductivity in situ, based on falling head permeameter, in order to determine the state of clogging of wetlands and its horizontal distribution; to determine the most suitable indicator to assess clogging in horizontal subsurface flow wetlands; to identifie new design and operation parameters likely to cause or encourage the clogging of the filter medium; and to analyse two new configurations in a pilot scale system in terms of contaminant removal and clogging development. Among the different clogging indicators analysed (drenable porosity, hydraulic conductivity, accumulated solids and effective volume from a tracer test), hydraulic conductivity seems to be the best one. Firstly, because hydraulic conductivity provides information about the hydraulic behaviour inside the bed, and linked appropriately with the accumulated solids (a correlation of 74.5% was found between both indicators). Secondly, because its application in full-scale wetlands is more straightforward than other techniques.