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Potential of constructed wetland in reducing total nitrogen loading into the Truckee River

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Abstract

A pilot-scale wetland was constructed along Steamboat Creek (SBC) at the Truckee Meadows Water Reclamation Facility (TMWRF), Sparks, Nevada. SBC is a major non-point source of total nitrogen (TN) for the Truckee River. In this study, four (16.2 m2) parallel wetland trains with two different experimental designs were utilized to assess seasonal variations in TN. The experimental designs included: (1) SBC water and SBC sediments (Configuration-1) and (2) TMWRF effluent and SBC sediments (Configuration-2). Over a period of 2 years, the TN in both designs was routinely monitored. TN was reduced by an average of 47% (0.60 mg/l) in Configuration-1 and an average of 24% (0.39 mg/l) in Configuration-2. Nitrogen speciation was an important factor influencing the effectiveness of nitrogen removal within the wetland system. Ammonia-N (NH3-N) and nitrate plus nitrite nitrogen ((NO3 + NO2)-N) were removed more effectively than organic nitrogen. The results obtained from this pilot-scale wetland system suggest that a proposed large-scale constructed wetlands system along SBC would be expected to overall reduce TN loading into the Truckee River from 19 to 30% on an annual basis.

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Acknowledgements

This research was jointly funded by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 9 and the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection. Thanks is extended to the Truckee Meadows Water Reclamation Facility (TMWRF) for help in operating the pilot-scale wetlands system. We also thank Richard Zehner, and other graduate and undergraduate students for their field and technical assistance. The authors are grateful to Eric Wolanski and two anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments and suggestions towards improvement of this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Mail Stop 258, University of Nevada, Reno, NV, 89557, USA

    Prithviraj V. Chavan, Keith E. Dennett, Eric A. Marchand & Lars E. Spurkland

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  1. Prithviraj V. Chavan
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  2. Keith E. Dennett
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  3. Eric A. Marchand
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  4. Lars E. Spurkland
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Keith E. Dennett.

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This research was jointly funded by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 9 and the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection.

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Chavan, P.V., Dennett, K.E., Marchand, E.A. et al. Potential of constructed wetland in reducing total nitrogen loading into the Truckee River. Wetlands Ecol Manage 16, 189–197 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11273-007-9067-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11273-007-9067-1

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