Date of Graduation
1997
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Type
PhD
College
Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design
Department
Microbiology, Immunology, and Cell Biology
Committee Chair
Alan J. Sexstone
Committee Co-Chair
Gary K. Bissonnette
Committee Member
David B. Yelton
Committee Member
Jeffery G. Skousen
Committee Member
Daniel G. Panaccione
Committee Member
Keith Garbutt
Abstract
Many small communities located in rural areas of the United States lack adequate domestic wastewater treatment plants. Constructed wetlands are being promoted as low-cost, low-maintenance systems for treatment of domestic wastewater in areas where standard septic tanks fail. In order to evaluate the efficacy of small constructed wetlands, 20 small-scale wetlands mesocosms (100 gal each) containing five plant treatments (no plants/control, Typha, Scirpus, and Juncus monocultures, and all three species combined) were planted into pea gravel at either 18 or 24 inches in depth. Each mesocosm received 5 gal/day of primary-treated domestic sewage. Mesocosms were monitored on a monthly basis over a two year period for TSS, BOD{dollar}\\sb5,{dollar} TKN, TP, and metals. Fecal coliforms, enterococci, Salmonella, Shigella, Yersinia and coliphage were also enumerated. Significant differences between influent and effluent water quality (p {dollar}
Recommended Citation
Hench, Keith R., "Physical, chemical, and microbial analysis of domestic wastewater treated by small constructed wetlands designed for individual households." (1997). Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports. 9023.
https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/9023