Title: Constructed wetlands for urban grey water recycling

Authors: Ronnie Frazer-Williams, Lisa Avery, Gideon Winward, Paul Jeffrey, Chris Shirley-Smith, Shuming Liu, Fayyaz Ali Memon, Bruce Jefferson

Addresses: Centre for Water Sciences, Cranfield University, Cranfield MK43 0AL, UK. ' Centre for Water Sciences, Cranfield University, Cranfield MK43 0AL, UK. ' Centre for Water Sciences, Cranfield University, Cranfield MK43 0AL, UK. ' Centre for Water Sciences, Cranfield University, Cranfield MK43 0AL, UK. ' Water Works UK Ltd., 21 Cornwall Avenue, London N22 7DA, UK. ' Centre for Water System, School of Engineering, Computer Science and Mathematics, University of Exeter, London EX4 4QF, UK. ' Centre for Water System, School of Engineering, Computer Science and Mathematics, University of Exeter, London EX4 4QF, UK. ' Centre for Water Sciences, Cranfield University, Cranfield MK43 0AL, UK

Abstract: Three differently configured constructed wetlands: a Horizontal Flow Reed Bed (HFRB), Vertical Flow Reed Bed (VFRB) and a novel constructed wetland (the Green Roof Water Recycling System (GROW) patent number GB 2375761) were compared for treatment of weak organic strength domestic grey water for reuse over a period of nine months. Influent and effluent were characterized in terms of standard water quality parameters and also by size and hydrophobicity to determine the organic fractions of grey water targeted during treatment. All three wetlands achieved significant reduction in key pollutants ranging from 87–93% BOD₅, 70–88% SS and 2.1–2.8 log reduction indicator microorganisms. Removal of pollutants occurred across a wide range of particle size. Hydrophilic organic fractions were preferentially removed compared to the hydrophobic components of the grey water.

Keywords: fractionation; green roof water recycling systems; GROW; grey water recycling; horizontal flow reed beds; HFRB; organic strength; vertical flow reed beds; VFRB; constructed wetlands; grey water reuse; water quality; hydrophobicity; water resource management; urban grey water.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEP.2008.018470

International Journal of Environment and Pollution, 2008 Vol.33 No.1, pp.93 - 109

Published online: 25 May 2008 *

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