Chapter 16 - Floating Treatment Wetlands for Nutrient Removal in a Subtropical Stormwater Wet Detention Pond with a Fountain

Abstract

Abstract Floating treatment wetland (FTW) is one of the emerging best management practices (BMPs) for stormwater treatment where macrophytes provide a suitable root-zone environment for microorganisms that allow the plants to remove nutrients through direct uptake into their tissue. In this study, four floating mats with native Florida aquatic macrophytes were deployed in a 340-m 2 subtropical stormwater wet detention pond. A fountain in the pond and peat moss used to hold the substrate for plant species on the floating mats are both assumed to add nutrients to the water column. This chapter presents the basic performance evaluation of nutrient removal through the four floating mats and explores associated effects of simultaneous hydrological and biological controls related to various hydrobiogeochemical processes for nutrient removal in a multimedia pond environment. Nutrient concentrations in both inlet and outlet were monitored continuously over 13 months, with episodic (storm events) and routine (nonstorm events) sampling plans carried out in parallel to justify the efficacy of the FTWs.