DESIGN OPTIMIZATION OF HZ FLOW CONSTRUCTED WETLAND FOR SUSTAINABLE ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT (PROPOSED MODEL)

Abstract

In developing countries water pollution is one of the main threats to public health. Thus, it is essential to reuse wastewater to struggle for water scarcity and to look after the available water sources by treating wastewater resulting from human activities. In Pakistan annual per capita water accessibility has been reduced from 5,260 to 1,038 cubic meters from 1951 to 2010 respectively. If this condition continues then the water availability in Pakistan will reduce to 877 cubic meters per annum by 2020 and will further go down to a distressing point of 575 m³ in 2050. In view of lack of resources and skilled manpower, required for sophisticated wastewater treatment technologies, there is need to examine the low cost wastewater treatment technologies like constructed wetlands. CWs are engineered systems that have been designed and constructed to make use of the natural processes involving wetland vegetation, soils and the associated microbial assembly. This study shows that horizontal sub surface flow constructed wetland has been designed to check the efficiency in removing pollutants from Hudiara drain. The findings reveal that as compared to other conventional treatment systems, constructed wetlands are low cost, easily operated, and require minimum energy demand. For developing countries like Pakistan with limited technology and facing energy problems, constructed wetlands can be used for wastewater treatment.