Performance monitoring of a vertical flow constructed wetland treating municipal wastewater

A two-year monitoring program was undertaken in a vertical flow constructed wetland treating
wastewater from Gomati, a village in Chalkidiki, North Greece. This constructed wetland
operates since 2003. The monitoring campaigns were organized every 15 days. Water quality
samples were collected at the inlet, at intermediate points (i.e., at the end of each treatment
stage) and at the outlet of the system. Measured mean removal efficiencies were as follows:
92.3% for BOD, 91.7% for COD, 80.3% for TKN, 87.5% for ΝΗ4
+, 61.3% for TP, 45.7% for
ortho-phosphates, 93.2% for TSS and 99.9% for total coliforms, which suggests a satisfactory
and reliable performance of such systems in Greece. The paper presents facility description,
study details and monitoring results.