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Estimation of the removal efficiency of heavy metals and nutrients from ecological drainage ditches treating town sewage during dry and wet seasons

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Abstract

Vegetated drainage ditches (ecological drainage ditches, EDD) are commonly used for the treatment of nutrients, suspended solids, and pesticides, from agricultural lands and aquaculture effluent. However, their effectiveness to remove heavy metals/metalloids (HM/Ms) and fate remains largely unexplored. In addition, there exists some uncertainty concerning the performance of the EDD in treating HM/Ms. This study presents a thorough assessment on the removal efficiencies of HM/Ms and identifies the parameters affecting the HM/Ms removal process in the EDD receiving primary domestic sewage for 13 years. The mean concentrations of the studied HM/Ms in sediments were lower than those reported in the aquatic ecosystems affected by coal-mine drainage and industrial wastewaters. The results also showed that the concentrations of the selected HM/Ms in ditch sediment were generally far higher than the soil background values of Sichuan basin. Concentrations of all the studied HM/Ms and nutrients in water entering the EDD were significantly higher than the effluent. The annual mean removal efficiencies of Ni, Cu, Cr, Zn, Cd, Pb, As, Fe, Al, Mn, N, and P in the ecological drainage ditch were 50.6, 56.1, 63.3, 79.3, 67.5, 80.1, 60.3, 52.6, 19.8, 24.3, 72.0, and 59.7%, respectively. The study also displayed that dissolved oxygen levels at the outlet were significantly (p < 0.001) higher after passing into the EDD system. The pH was kept at neutral or alkaline. Removal of HM/Ms and nutrients was seasonal, generally peaking in the growing season. Sedimentation was the major mechanism removing HM/Ms within the EDD system. EDD was found to possess a favorable influence at mitigating HM/Ms and nutrients in situ and can be successfully utilized to resolve this type of environmental pollution.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to the Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 41430750 and 4171241) and the CAS-TWAS President’s Fellowship Programme for financial support of this work. We thank many colleagues for their assistance in the field and laboratory.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Mountain Surface Processes and Ecological Regulation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 610041, Chengdu, People’s Republic of China

    Mathieu Nsenga Kumwimba & Bo Zhu

  2. Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 610041, Chengdu, People’s Republic of China

    Mathieu Nsenga Kumwimba & Bo Zhu

  3. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, People’s Republic of China

    Mathieu Nsenga Kumwimba

  4. Faculty of Agronomy, Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Management, University of Lubumbashi, P. O. Box 1825, Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of Congo

    Mathieu Nsenga Kumwimba

  5. School of Life Science and Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, 610031, People’s Republic of China

    Diana Kavidia Muyembe

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  1. Mathieu Nsenga Kumwimba
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  2. Bo Zhu
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  3. Diana Kavidia Muyembe
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Correspondence to Bo Zhu.

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Highlights

• EDD receiving untreated sewage were monitored in subtropical monsoon climate

• Removal of HM/Ms and nutrients was seasonal.

• Removal efficiencies of HMs were between 20 and 67%.

• EDD can be a suitable alternative for removing HMs through several processes.

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Kumwimba, M.N., Zhu, B. & Muyembe, D.K. Estimation of the removal efficiency of heavy metals and nutrients from ecological drainage ditches treating town sewage during dry and wet seasons. Environ Monit Assess 189, 434 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-017-6136-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-017-6136-7

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