Private wetlands septic systems:

This document discusses use of private wetlands for residential onsite wastewater treatment. Wetlands used in this manner are natural systems for polishing or recycling septic effluent include public and private wetlands, greenhouses, and other systems.

The photograph at above left shows a constructed wetlands in San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato Mexico. This wetlands forms a portions of a wetlands ecosystem which treats septic effluent from a local community and provides fresh water to botanical gardens.

Wetland Septic Systems for Private Onsite Wastewater Disposal

Wetland Septic Systems or "natural" septic systems use a constructed wetlands area (or a greenhouse) to treat septic effluent. These systems are more common in Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, South Dakota, and Florida where both municipal wetland septic designs and private homeowner wetland septic system designs are in use.

Illustration: a constructed wetland, - Types of Septic Systems, U.S. EPA, retrieved 2019/04/22 original source: https://www.epa.gov/septic/types-septic-systems

"Wetlands" may include both visible water such as open ponds, and underground water located in constructed beds which are covered with soil. Typically these systems are used as a final "polishing" step to treat effluent which has been processed

in AEROBIC SEPTIC SYSTEMS, ATUs or effluent which has been processed

in MEDIA FILTER SEPTIC SYSTEMS

Wetlands septic effluent disposal systems usually require a large area and are not easily adjusted to accommodate variations in the level of system usage, such as a sudden increase in the occupancy of the site. However these systems also use less electricity or other energy source than pumping, dosing, and similar effluent handlers.

A more sophisticated (and costly) alternative to an open wetlands for treatment of effluent is the use of a greenhouse system which encloses the wetland treatment facility and provides a more controlled environment.

A greenhouse septic effluent system discharges effluent into the atmosphere in the form of humidity, similar

to EVAPORATION-TRANSPIRATION SEPTIC SYSTEMS.

Jantrania (op.cit.) describes greenhouse systems which use UV light for final disinfection of effluent which is then recycled to flush toilets.

At Technical Reviewers & References below we provide a bibliography of references and information sources about the design, performance, & maintenance of wetland septic systems.

Citation of this article by reference to this website and brief quotation for the sole purpose of review are permitted.Citation of this article by reference to this website and brief quotation for the sole purpose of review are permitted. Use of this information at other websites, in books or pamphlets for sale is reserved to the author. Technical review by industry experts has been performed and comments from readers are welcomed. Contributors are listed at the end of each article.

Wetland Construction Research & Design Specifications

• Also seeReferences or Citations
• Ameel, J., E.Ruzycki and R.P.Axler. 1998 Analytical chemistry and quality assurance procedures for natural
  water samples. 6th edition., NRRI Tech. Rep. NRRI/TR-98/03, Natural Resources Research Institute, University of Minnesota, Duluth, MN.
• Anderson, J. and D. Gustafson.1998. Development of alternative on-site treatment systems for wastewater: A
  demonstration project for southern Minnesota. Fin. Rep. to Minnesota Pollution Control Agency/Legislative Comm. on Minnesota Resources, St. Paul, MN
• Grove, John E., and John Aldrich. "Cold climate wetland waste water treatment system." U.S. Patent 5,951,866, issued September 14, 1999.
  Abstract:
  
  A wetland bioreactor treatment cell for use in a waste water treatment process for reducing stated water quality indicators of the waste water is provided.
  
  The wetland bioreactor treatment cell comprises a vegetated containment area containing porous media for receiving an influent comprising water and organic waste material with the containment area having a front end and a rear end.
  
  A manifold distributor structure for receiving and distributing the influent into the containment area is provided with the manifold distributor structure being positioned entirely within the front end of the containment area and the manifold distributor structure having a port for allowing cleaning or maintenance of the manifold distributor structure.
  
  A hydraulic upflow structure is positioned nearingly adjacent and downstream from the manifold distributor structure with the hydraulic upflow structure maintaining a substantial amount of suspended solids in the front end of the containment area. At least one small hydraulic upflow structure is positioned between the manifold distributor structure and the rear end of the containment area.
  
  A hydraulic level control structure is positioned entirely within the rear end of the containment area.
• Paing, Joëlle, and Jean Voisin. "Vertical flow constructed wetlands for municipal wastewater and septage treatment in French rural area." Water Science & Technology 51, no. 9 (2005): 145-155.
  Abstract:
  
  This paper presents the purification performance of 20 wastewater treatment plants with Vertical Reed Bed Filters (Macrophyltres®), built between 1998 and 2003 by SAS VOISIN, for communities between 150 to 1400 PE. The first stage vertical reed bed (directly fed with raw wastewater by intermittent feeding) achieved high removal of SS, BOD and COD (mean respectively 96%, 98%, 92%).
  
  The second stage permitted compliance easily with effluent standards (SS < 15 mg/l, BOD < 15 mg/l, COD < 90mg/l and mean TKN < 10 mg/l). Performance was not significantly influenced by variations of organic and hydraulic load, nor by seasonal variations. Rigorous operation and maintenance were required to obtain optimal performances.
  
  Another application of vertical reed beds is the treatment of septage (sludge from individual septic tanks). The results obtained on two sites operating for 2 and 3 years are presented. The first site achieved complete treatment of septage (solid and liquid fraction), the second permitted a pre-treatment for co-treatment of percolate with wastewater.
• Steer, David, Lauchlan Fraser, James Boddy, Beth Seibert, "Efficiency of small constructed wetlands for subsurface treatment of single-family domestic effluent", Ecological Engineering, Vol 18 Iss 4, pp. 429-440, 2002/3/1 - Abstract:
  Single-family constructed wetland systems in Ohio, USA, are studied to evaluate their effectiveness in improving water quality.
  
  Twenty-one, three-cell systems (septic tank with two wetlands) are found to meet US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) effluent load guidelines in 68% of the quarterly water quality samples collected from 1994 to 2001.
  
  These wetlands most frequently meet EPA standards for mitigation of biochemical oxygen demand (89% below 30 mg/l); total suspended solids (79% below 30 mg/l); and fecal coliform (74% below 1000 counts/100 ml). Phosphorus and ammonia discharge meet the guidelines less often (50% at 1 mg/l and 16% at 1.5 mg/l, respectively).
  
  These data also indicate that domestic treatment wetlands can reduce output of fecal coliform 88±27%, total suspended solids 56±53%, biochemical oxygen demand 70±48%, ammonia 56±31% and phosphorus 80±20%. Analysis of variance for these systems indicates that biochemical oxygen demand reduction is ∼10% less efficiently reduced during winter and ammonia was reduced 20% more efficiently in fall when compared with the other seasons.
  
  Phosphorus reductions display complex seasonal variations that imply that the least efficient phosphorus reduction occurs in winter and the most efficient reduction occurs in fall.
• Neralla, Srinivasan, Richard W Weaver, Bruce J Lesikar, Russell A Persyn, "Improvement of domestic wastewater quality by subsurface flow constructed wetlands", Bioresource Technology, Volume 75, Issue 1, October 2000, Pages 19–25, Abstract:
  
  A large proportion of households throughout the world and approximately 25% of the households in the US use on-site wastewater disposal systems. Subsurface flow constructed wetlands are gaining popularity as a reduced cost and low-maintenance technology for on-site treatment of septiceffluents.
  
  Constructed wetlands from residences at eight locations in Texas have been used for the past 2–4 years to determine their effectiveness in improving the quality of septiceffluent passing through them. Influent and effluent samples were collected once every month over a period of one year from each location and analyzed to determine the reduction in concentrations of biological oxygen demand (BOD5), total suspended solids (TSS), volatile suspended solids (VSS), ammonium-N (NH4+-N), phosphorus, total and fecal coliform bacteria.
  
  Results of these investigations indicate that the organic load, fecal coliform populations and the N and P concentrations of the septic water decreased considerably by passing through the wetlands. Constructed wetlands reduced BOD5 of septic water by 80–90% which provided for feasible disinfection by chlorination.
  
  Reduction in populations of fecal coliforms varied but generally, populations were reduced by 90–99%. Chlorination further reduced po
  
  pulations of fecal coliforms to less than 2 cfu 100 ml−1. Constructed wetlands provided an effective method for secondary treatment of on-site domestic wastewater.
• Henneck, J., R. Axler, B. McCarthy, S. Monson Geerts, S. Heger Christopherson, J. Anderson, J. Crosby, ONSITE TREATMENT OF SEPTIC TANK EFFLUENT IN MINNESOTA USING SSF CONSTRUCTED WETLANDS: PERFORMANCE, COSTS AND MAINTENANCE [PDF] ASAE symposium on individual and small community systems, Fort Worth TX, Mar 11-14, 2001
  Abstract:
  
  About 30 % of Minnesotans use on-site systems for wastewater treatment (~500,000 residences).
  
  Unfortunately, 55-70 % are failing or out of compliance with state standards. Homeowners and small businesses require cost-effective options in locations with restrictive soil and site conditions. In particular, many sites occur near lakes and streams creating a health hazard and deteriorating water quality.
  
  Constructed wetlands (CWs) are one option being evaluated and this paper addresses CWs as a viable wastewater treatment option in Minnesota based on experiences at three research sites, encompassing 5 subsurface flow wetlands from 1995-2000.
  
  These are small flow (< 1000 gpd) subsurface flow gravel beds located at the Northeast Regional Correction Center (NERCC), Grand Lake, and Lake Washington, MN. Performance monitoring shows that CWs are a viable, year-round onsite treatment option. The systems were generally able to achieve design criteria of 30 mg BOD5/L, 25 mg TSS/L and 200 fecal cfu/100 mL, although the NERCC CWs required 30 cm. of unsaturated soil to achieve consistent disinfection.
  
  High strength (~300 mg BOD/L and 100 mg TN/L) influent at NERCC probably limited system performance, particularly N-removal which was ~40% in summer and ~20% in winter (mass-based). Declining P-removal at the oldest sites suggest substrate saturation.
  
  Although CWs remain a viable option for homeowners in terms of performance, ease of operation, and cost, other issues relate to inconsistent vegetation growth (affecting performance and freezing), and meeting concentration-based regulatory standards since they may exhibit substantial variability due to rain events, partial freezing, spring snowmelt, and summer evapotranspiration.
• Henneck, J., R. Axler, D. Nordman, B. McCarthy and S. Monson Geerts.1999. Operation and maintenance experiences with constructed wetlands in Minnesota. In Proc. National On-Site Wastewater Recycling Assoc,
  NOWRA, Laurel MD. pp. 219-223
• Jenssen, P., Maehlum, T. and Zhu, T (1996). Design and Performance of Subsurface Flow Constructed Wetlands in Norway. Presented at Constructed Wetlands in Cold Climates: Design, Operation, Performance Symposium, The Friends of St. George, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario.
• Kadlec, R., Axler, R., McCarthy, B. and Henneck, J. (2000). (submitted). Subsurface Treatment Wetlands in the Cold Climate of Minnesota. Constructed Wetlands for Wastewater Treatment in Cold Climates. Advances in Ecological Sciences (in press).
• McCarthy, B., Axler, R., Monson-Geerts, S., Henneck, J., Crosby, J., Nordman, D., Weidman, P. and Hagen, T. (1997). Development of Alternative On-site Treatment Systems for Wastewater Treatment: A Demonstration Project for Northern Minnesota: Final Report Submitted to Minnesota Technology Inc., Legislative Commission for Minnesota Resources, Electric Research Power Institute. Natural Resources Research Institute, University of Minnesota, Duluth, Minnesota.
• Parkin, G. and Cross, C. (2000). Jones County Iowa constructed wetland operating data (unpublished data). Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The University of Iowa, Iowa City Iowa.
• Steiner, G. and Watson, J. (1993). General Design, Construction and Operation Guidelines; Constructed Wetlands Wastewater Treatment Systems for Small Users Including Individual Residences, Second Edition. Tennessee Valley Authority Resource Group Water Management TVA/WM - 93/10.
• Wallace, S. (1998). Putting Wetlands to Work. Civil Engineering, 98-007-0057. American Society of Civil Engineers, New York.
• Wallace, S. and Patterson, R. (1996). Indian Creek Nature Center Constructed Wetlands for Wastewater Treatment. Presented at the Constructed Wetlands in Cold Climates: Design, Operation, Performance Symposium, The Friends of St. George, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario
• Wallace, S., G. Parkin, and C. Cross. COLD CLIMATE WETLANDS: DESIGN AND PERFORMANCE [PDF] Water Science and Technology 44, no. 11-12 (2001): 259-265.
  
  Abstract:
  Constructed wetlands are gaining widespread use as a simple, low cost means of wastewater treatment. Introduction of constructed wetlands technology into the northern United States has been limited by the ability of conventional wetland systems to operate without freezing during the winter.
  
  A design approach using subsurface-flow constructed wetlands covered with an insulating mulch layer has been demonstrated to prevent freezing. However, introduction of a mulch layer will affect oxygen transfer rates, pollutant removal performance, and plant establishment. These factors must be addressed for successful application of constructed wetlands technology in cold climates.
• Wallace, Scott D. SYSTEM FOR REMOVING POLLUTANTS FROM WATER [PDF] U.S. Patent 6,200,469, issued March 13, 2001.
  Abstract:
  A system for removing pollution from water, utilizing a subsurface constructed wetland system using forced bed aeration and variable water levels, to promote greater root depth and better root structure of the wetland vegetation, and to establish staged anaerobic and aerobic zones within the system.
  
  

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