Evaluating the performance of horizontal sub-surface flow constructed wetlands: A case study from southern India

Constructed wetlands are a nature-based engineering solution enabling polishing of septic tank effluents at low-cost. However to date, the influence of planting on treatment efficiency remains little understood. Here we report a case study evaluating the performance of two near-identical Horizontal Sub-Surface Flow Constructed Wetlands (HSSF-CW) deployed at a school in southern India. The HSSF-CWs were of similar size and construction with the exception that one system was planted (Canna indica) whilst the other was operated without plants. Both systems were operated at similar hydraulic loading rate (HLR) and hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 84 mm day−1 and 3.7 days, respectively to treat the effluent from septic tanks. The systems were monitored fortnightly for one year and the performance kinetics, nutrient and organics removal efficiencies were evaluated. Significant reduction in biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) (p