Subsurface Wetland

Constructed wetlands mimic natural processes that cleanse water. Lined ponds are filled with gravel and support aquatic vegetation. The plants and the microorganisms that naturally live on their stems and roots feed on the elements nitrogen and phosphorus that result from the breakdown of organic materials in the wastewater. They may also take up metals and other toxins.

Water now begins to leave the system through processes carried out by the wetland plants. Plants transpire more than 95% of the water they take in as water vapor. The water is lost through tiny open pores called stomata in the epidermal cells of leaves and stems. Some of the water taken up by plants is broken down during photosynthesis, the process by which plants capture energy from the sun and fix it into sugars.

This constructed wetland is the subsurface flow type -- the water level is kept below the gravel to prevent people from coming in contact with the partially treated water.

Follow the water: Source---> Septic Tanks --->Recirculating Filtration System---> Greenhouse (Subsurface Wetland, UV Light, Free Surface Wetland) ---> Discharge Site