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Floating Vegetated Mats for Improving Surface Water Quality

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Emerging Environmental Technologies, Volume II

Abstract

Contamination of surface and ground waters is an environmental concern. Pollution from both point and nonpoint sources can render water unsuitable for use. Surface waters of concern include streams, rivers, ponds, lakes, canals, and wastewater lagoons. Lagooned wastewater from confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs) represents an extreme in water quality problems. Wastewater lagoons are used for primary treatment which includes settling of solids and loss of gases by volatilization. Additional methods are often used to treat the wastewater from the lagoons. These methods include passing the wastewater through constructed wetlands, where both plant uptake and biological processes such as denitrification remove or retain nutrients, and application of the wastewater to agricultural or forestry land. A new concept for improving surface water quality including that of wastewater lagoons is to grow vegetation on floating platforms in the water body. Little research has been conducted in this area, although this technology basically is application of hydroponics using floating platforms for the vegetation which then utilizes nutrients contained in the contaminated waters. Research conducted by USDA-ARS and the University of Georgia at Tifton, GA has focused on determining the feasibility of growing vegetation to produce biomass and remove nutrients from contaminated surface water bodies. The research has shown that different plant species can be found to grow on floating platforms in a range of different water qualities. In the most contaminated water tested thus far, anaerobic swine lagoon wastewater, it was determined that plants remove nutrients to their maximum capacity such that total removal of nutrients from the water body is a function of biomass produced. This chapter explains the concepts and techniques involved in using floating vegetated mats on contaminated water bodies for nutrient removal, reports results from completed studies, discusses ongoing projects, and identifies research needs for this emerging technology.

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  1. Southeast Watershed Research Laboratory, USDA-ARS, 31793, Tifton, GA, USA

    Robert K. Hubbard

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    Vishal Shah

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Hubbard, R.K. (2010). Floating Vegetated Mats for Improving Surface Water Quality. In: Shah, V. (eds) Emerging Environmental Technologies, Volume II. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-3352-9_9

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