High-strength domestic wastewater treatment and reuse with onsite passive methods

Abstract

This paper describes the preliminary monitoring results of an onsite pilot wastewater treatment plant consisting of a septic tank, an anaerobic up-flow filter, and a horizontal subsurface flow wetland system planted with Agapanthus africanus. The system was designed to treat heavily polluted domestic wastewater produced in a research and development (R&D) center, reaching additional goals of zero energy consumption and eliminating the use of chemical additives. First water quality data shows that organic load in the treated sewage were removed achieving more than 95% efficiency. Nutrients were removed by almost 50%, and fecal and total coliform counts decreased by 99.96%. The results were compared to official Mexican regulations for wastewater discharged into lakes and reservoirs complied with all of them except for nutrients. In this pilot project, the resulting treated wastewater was directly reused for watering the green areas of the R&D center. The result was that the excess of nutrients improved the quality of the grass, avoiding the use of synthetic fertilizers, and created a wetland habitat for small wildlife species living in the area.