Natural Systems for Wastewater Treatment

Formed in 1928, the Water Environment Federation (WEF) is a not-for-profit technical and educational organization with 36,000 individual members and 75 affiliated Member Associations representing water quality professionals around the world. WEF and its Member Associations proudly work to achieve our mission of preserving and enhancing the global water environment.

The WEF Technical Practice Committee (formerly the Committee on Sewage and Industrial Wastes Practice of the Federation of Sewage and Industrial Wastes Associations) was created by the Federation Board of Control on October 11, 1941. The primary function of the Committee is to originate and produce, through appropriate subcommittees, special publications dealing with technical aspects of the broad...

Preface

The purpose of this manual of practice is to describe and provide planning and design criteria for soil-based and aquatic-based natural treatment systems. Natural wastewater treatment systems take advantage of the physical, chemical and biological processes in soil and aquatic environments to treat wastewater in a sustainable manner with a minimum of mechanical energy. Natural systems are suitable...

A significant component in a typical land-based treatment system is the plant/soil/groundwater environment. Increasing environmental sensitivity associated with receiving waters throughout the nation necessitates increased use of this natural receiver environment. The soil/plant system serves as the primary host for the myriad of organisms that function as a natural treatment system for the...

Floating aquatic plant treatment systems are engineered systems that use floating aquatic plants to treat wastewater (domestic and industrial) and stormwater. They are designed to achieve specific treatment and water quality objectives. The primary plant species used in floating plant aquatic treatment...