Why Aquatic Plants Are Used to Treat

Wastewater
By Alexis Rohlin, eHow Contributor
updated: July 11, 2010

Wetlands are nature's water filters.

Traditional methods of treating sewage wastewater are quite expensive. Traditional
treatment involves two phases. The first phase removes inorganic materials, settles
suspended materials, and uses anaerobic microorganisms to digest nutrients from the
water. The second phase uses large bulky tanks and treatment filters to clarify the water
to make it safe for human use. This wastewater treatment method can cost millions of
dollars to construct and to keep in operation. An alternative to the secondary stage of
sewage treatment plants is using manmade wetlands. The aquatic plants that live in the
wetlands naturally filter the water and provide a habitat for migratory waterfowl, fish,
turtles, frogs, and other species of wildlife.

Why Aquatic Plants?

o In the wetland method of sewage treatment plants play a crucial part in
cleaning the water and making it safe for humans to use. The types of
plants that live in wetlands absorb nitrates that are present in wastewater.
Living in their roots are helpful bacteria, algae, fungi, and other
microorganisms that are responsible for carbon dioxide/oxygen
exchange, ammonium/nitrate exchange, and phosphate removal. Even
the soil of the wetlands absorbs heavy metals and other materials after
they settle to the bottom of the standing water.

Natural Water Filtration

o Wetlands provide a natural transitional barrier between land and water.
Much like the filtration tanks in sewage treatment facilities, the plants and
soil in this barrier remove harmful metals and chemicals from the water
before it moves out into a lake or ocean.
The aquatic plants that naturally occur as water filters in wetlands are also used to filter
wastewater. These plants are bulrushes, cattails, duckweed, and water hyacinths. Their
roots take up nitrogen and heavy metals which are absorbed into their stems and leaves.
The roots also promote the growth of beneficial microorganisms that consume nutrients
that can be toxic to people, such as ammonium and certain phosphates. The
microorganisms then release nitrates and oxygen into the water. Plants consume the
nitrates, and fish and other aquatic animals use the oxygen to breathe.
Are Man-Made Wetlands Good For Plants?
 o Certain plants stand up better to filtering than others, but for the most part
the plants listed here happily live out their entire life spans. They are not
negatively affected by being used to filter wastewater. When the plants
naturally die off their replacement is still much cheaper than it is to
replace and keep filtering tanks in proper working condition.

Other Uses
o Aquatic plants also filter other types of polluted waters. Man-made
wetlands provide a living barrier that prevents poisonous run-off from
getting into oceans, lakes, rivers, and streams. These waste waters
include storm water run-off, agricultural waste water, coal mine drainage,
petroleum refinery wastes, compost and land fill leachates, and fish pond
discharges. Aquatic plants also can filter pretreated industrial waste
waters from paper mills, textile mills, and seafood processing plants.

Benefits For Wildlife

o These man-made wetlands not only make our water safe, they also
create a beautiful ecosystem for wildlife to live and thrive in. Many
habitats for water fowl, turtles, fishes, and amphibians have been
reclaimed by creating wetlands in areas that were once blighted by urban
decay or garbage dumps. These wetlands save communities money and
provide nature preserves. These parks give people a place to sit and bird-
watch or enjoy a picnic. Migratory birds especially love this new
terraforming development and have made these new wetlands common
stops on their travels around the globe.
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References
• Fourth Corner Nurseries: The Use of Aquatic Plants to Treat Wastewater
• Organization of American States: Wastewater Treatment Technologies
• EcoTipping Points Project: Constructed Wetland
• Environmental Protection Agency: A Handbook of Constructed Wetlands
Volume 1
Resources
• Sewer History
• Water Environment Federation
• Photo Credit: Olifants river wetland in savannah, Kruger National Park
image by Lars Lachmann from Fotolia.com;
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