WEF/WERF: Constructed Wetlands for Nutrient Control and
Wastewater Treatment
 
Sunday, October 19, 8:30 am - 4:30 pm
1 day, 0.6 CEUs

Organized by the Water Environment Research Foundation (WERF), The Wetlands Initiative and the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago

Workshop Co-Chairs
Jeff Moeller and Richard Lanyon

Constructing wetlands to remove nutrients and to treat wastewater and stormwater is gaining increased attention, spurred on by concerns about nutrient pollution and hypoxia in places such as the Gulf of Mexico. WERF is funding research that examines the design considerations, efficacy and economics of constructed wetlands to reduce nutrient loads to meet water quality goals.

Using WERF-supported research and the Mississippi River basin as a backdrop, this workshop will explore the feasibility and the economic and design considerations of constructed wetlands.  Participants will examine situations in which wetlands might be useful for controlling nutrients and treating wastewater, discuss “nutrient farming” and explore design considerations when planning a constructed wetland system. Scenarios will include both small-scale treatment wetlands, and the larger use of nutrient farming and large scale wetlands as a nutrient control option for wastewater treatment facilities. 

Chicago, which is home to the Wetlands Initiative, and where the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District has explored the idea of nutrient farming in detail, is an ideal location for such a workshop.

Speakers
Richard Lanyon, Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago
Donald Hey, The Wetlands Initiative
Jill Kostel, The Wetlands Initiative
Wayland Eheart, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (invited)
Scott Wallace, Jacques Whitford NAWE, Inc. (invited)
Robert Knight, Wetland Solutions, Inc. (invited)
Robert Kadlec, Wetland Management Services (invited)
U.S. EPA or USFWS (invited)

Keywords
surface water quality and ecology, small community and natural treatment systems, nutrients, constructed wetlands, nutrient farming