Suspended Sediment and Phosphorus Removal in a Woodchip Filter System Treating Agricultural Wash Water

Woodchip filters have received attention in recent years for their ability to sustain denitrification activity across multiyear time frames. However, in some freshwater aquatic ecosystems, P rather than N is the nutrient considered most responsible for eutrophication. Previous studies have indicated that woodchip filters have limited ability to remove dissolved P, but in agricultural terrain, P export in watercourses is often dominated by particulate P (PP). Woodchip media, because of their high porosity and permeability and the surface roughness of the particles, could be effective for PP removal. In this study, we tested a woodchip filter for its ability to remove suspended sediment and associated PP at a farm in southern Ontario, Canada, where vegetable wash water with extremely high total suspended solids (TSS) was generated. The treatment system consisted of a 12.3‐m3 concrete sedimentation tank and a slightly larger woodchip filter (16.1 m3) installed in a subsurface trench. During 7 mo of full‐scale operation, treating 10.8 m3 d−1, the filter system removed 71% of influent total P (TP) averaging 8.8 mg L−1 and 99% of TSS averaging 5800 mg L−1, with most of the removal occurring in the tank and a lesser amount (6–16%) occurring in the woodchip filter. Almost all of the TP removal was associated with PP (91% removal) because dissolved P, averaging 1.5 mg L−1 in the wash water, was little changed. Woodchip filters, when coupled with a solids settling tank, have the potential to provide high‐capacity, low‐maintenance treatment of suspended solids and associated particulate P in turbid waters. Core Ideas Woodchip filters also remove total suspended solids (TSS) and associated particulate P. Woodchip filters removed 98% of TSS from vegetable wash water with a TSS of 6 g L−1. Woodchip filters removed 70% of total P, averaging 9 mg L−1.