Remediation of Nitrogen and Phosphorus from Nursery Runoff during the Spring via Free Water Surface Constructed Wetlands

Abstract

Agricultural operations face increasing pressure to remediate runoff to reduce deterioration of surface water quality. Some nursery operations use free water surface constructed wetland systems (CWSs) to remediate nutrient-rich runoff. Our objectives were twofold, first to examine the impact of two hydraulic retention times (HRT, 3.5 and 5.5 day) on CWS performance, and second to determine if increased nutrient loading from internal CWS and nursery sources during the spring contributed to nutrient export in excess of regulatory limits. We quantified nutrient loading and removal efficiency in a free water surface CWS from late winter through late spring over three years and monitored various water quality parameters. Total nitrogen in runoff was reduced from 20.6 ± 2.8 mg·liter−1 (ppm) to 4.1 ± 1.3 mg·liter−1 (ppm) nitrogen after CWS treatment. Phosphorus dynamics in the CWS were more variable and unlike nitrogen dynamics were not consistently influenced by water temperature and hydraulic loading rate. Phosphorus concentrations were reduced from 1.7 ± 0.8 mg·liter−1 (ppm) PO4-P in influent to 1.2 ± 0.6 mg·liter−1 (ppm) PO4-P in CWS effluent, but substantial variability existed among years in both phosphorus loading and removal rates. The CWS was able to efficiently remediate nitrogen even under high spring loading rates.