A BOTANICAL APPROACH TO THE TREATMENT OF WASTEWATERS

A number of investigations are in progress worldwide into the ability of aquatic plants to purify wastewaters from domestic, industrial and agricultural sources. Most of the studies in the U.K. are being conducted by the Water Authorities into the treatment of sewage using engineered beds of the common reed, Phragmites australis, under horizontal flow conditions. At the University of Birmingham Phragmites are being studied for the treatment of agricultural effluents which are significantly more polluting than sewage. Two reed beds have been constructed on farms and some initial results are given in the paper. The use of reed beds employing downward flow of wastewater may give improved treatment performance in the future.