A water chemistry assessment of wastewater remediation in a natural swamp

Various aspects of water chemistry of a natural forested wetland Here studi ed in order to determine the possibility of using the wetland for advanced wastewater treatment in Louisiana and to evaluate the wastewater effect on swamp Hater quality. The study Has tarried out by comparing treatment and c ontrol cypress-tupelo forests separated by a bottomland hardwood forest rid ge. The treatment area (231 ha) received secondarily treated municipal wast ewater at a rate of 6.3 x 10(6) L d(-1). The calculated hydraulic detention time of the wastewater Has 120 d. Electrical conductivity (EC), pH, and co ncentrations of 5-d biological oxygen demand (BOD5), dissolved oxygen (DO), solids, nutrients, and trace metals were monitored. Mean concentrations fo r the wastewater were 14.6 mg L-1 for total N and 2.5 mg L-1 for total P. T he dominant form of N in the wastewater was NO3-N The swamp system attenuat ed the NO3-N by 100%, total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN) by 69%, and total P by 66%. It appears that tertiary wastewater treatment Has achieved due to the nutrient attenuations. Based upon our findings, He predict that the high N attenuation efficiency would enable the swamp to work well if the N loading rate Here doubled. However, P removal was dependent on loading rate, hydra ulic retention time, and temperature. The swamp Has more efficient in treat ing wastewater during Harm seasons than cool seasons. During the monitoring period, trace metals Here not significantly increased in the swamp water b ecause of very low concentrations in the wastewater.