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SEASONAL MONITORING OF ELEMENTS AT THREE CONSTRUCTED TREATMENT WETLANDS: 1999-2001
Citation:
May, T. SEASONAL MONITORING OF ELEMENTS AT THREE CONSTRUCTED TREATMENT WETLANDS: 1999-2001. Presented at Society of Toxicology & Chemistry, Austin, TX, November 08 - 13, 2003.
Impact/Purpose:
To inform the public.
Description:
A suite of major, minor, and trace elements in sediment, pore water, and overlying water were monitored during winter and summer over a three year period at three different types of constructed treatment wetlands to evaluate their efficacy with season. Acid-volatile sulfide (AVS), simultaneously extracted metals (SEM) and organic matter were also measured in the sediment. Samples were collected repeatedly at four locations along the progression of wastewater flow though each wetland. The wetlands studied included a) an animal feedlot wastewater treatment wetland near Warsaw, North Carolina, b) a municipal wastewater treatment wetland near Columbia, Missouri, and c) an oil field wastewater treatment wetland north of Casper, Wyoming. The primary trace elements of importance that were identified include Cu and Zn (NC) and As (WY). The NC wetland was effective in removing Cu and Zn from the effluent but the WY wetland was ineffective in removing As. Scavenging of Cu and Zn by AVS was apparent at the NC wetland. However, SEM-AVS was generally not a reliable predictor of Cu or Zn concentrations in individual samples of pore water, perhaps because of limited reaction time or metal complexation by DOC. At the NC site, concentrations of Cu and Zn in filtered surface waters were higher in winter than in summer. Otherwise, no seasonal trends were apparent at any of the three sites.