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Mesocosm-Scale Constructed Wetland Design for Wastewater Treatment
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Sediment deposition in constructed wetland ponds with emergent vegetation: laboratory study and mathematical model
B H Schmid1, U Stephan, M A Hengl
1Institute of Hydraulic and Water Resources Engineering, Vienna University of Technology, c/o Vegagasse 16, A-1190 Vienna, Austria. schmid@hydro.tuwien.ac.at
Abstract:
Retention of suspended particles by settling is among the main physical treatment processes in constructed wetland ponds. Laboratory experiments were conducted to study the transport and deposition of suspended particles in the slow, near-stagnant flows typical of constructed wetland ponds with emergent vegetation. The presence of stems was found to create a velocity field which is much more uniform than its counterpart without vegetation. This property was used to obtain an approximate mathematical model, for which an analytical solution could be given to describe sediment transport and deposition. The deposition rates predicted by this formula were compared to the data from the above-mentioned laboratory experiments and found to agree closely.
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