Constructed Wetlands or Treatment Wetlands
Constructed wetlands (CW) or Treatment Wetlands (TWs) group a series of nature-based techniques which have shown reliable removal efficiencies in the last 30 years.
Intensified Constructed Wetlands (which we like to call Constructed Wetland 2.0) are a series of innovative solutions and design techniques aimed to improve removal efficiencies, to decrease land occupancy, and to optimize operational and maintenance costs in comparison to conventional CW solutions.
Constructed wetland solutions proposed by IRIDRA are listed below.
HF SYSTEMS
VF SYSTEMS
FWS SYSTEMS
HYBRID
SYSTEMS
LAGOONS, LOW TECH SOLUTIONS
FORCED BED AERATION (FBA™) or AERATED WETLAND
FRENCH RED BED (FRB)
ADVANCED NUMERICAL MODELLING
Hydraulic classification
Constructed wetlands (CWs) for wastewater treatment are commonly classified according to the developed hydraulic path, as follow:
FWS: free water surface systems;
SFS-h or HF: horizontal subsurface flow systems;
SFS-v or VF: vertical subsurface flow systems.
Conventional subsurface flow systems require less area in comparison to FWS and have found greater application for secondary treatment. On the other hands, the lower construction cost of FWS favored their application for tertiary treatment.
Hydraulic and vegetation classification
According to the work of Fonder and Headley 2010, the combination of different planted vegetation and hydraulic regimes leads to the definition of up to 20 different CW configurations, as following report.
CW classification considering both hydraulic regime and planted vegetation (Fonder & Headley, 2010).
