Elevated vertical-flow constructed wetlands for light greywater treatment

Abstract

Integrated planning of urban blue–green infrastructures is crucial to strengthen urban environmental quality and mitigate negative climate change-associated effects. It implies, however, increased water demand for irrigation, wherefore greywater (wastewater excluding wastewater from toilets and urinals) can be used, yet it requires handling for safe reuse. One treatment option is the use of constructed wetlands (CW), which have thus far not been broadly applied in inner-city districts due to large area requirements. This work investigates a novel bipartite container-based vertical-flow constructed wetland (VFCW) for the treatment of light greywater (from showers and hand wash basins) and its use as irrigation water for urban facade greenery. The VFCW consists of two compartments with 2.5 m2 filter area each, filled with 75 cm zeolite-containing lava sand (0–4 mm) and 75 cm Rhine sand (0–2 mm), respectively. In short, screening has proven to be well suitable for coarse solids removal, so there is no further need to settle light greywater, which reduces overall treatment area and benefits urban application. Treated greywater complied with irrigation standards at all times, yet mixing with rainwater can help reduce salt contents, if applicable. The modular/elevated lava sand VFCW exhibited extensive nitrification, even at extremely low water temperatures, as well as mean effluent concentrations of 6.3 mg/L COD and <0.05 mg/L Ptot, which makes it a very promising treatment option for greywater. All in all, the modular/elevated design promotes urban application of VFCW as a multifunctional blue–green system that can help increase urban resilience.