Toowoomba Regional Council has installed a new floating wetland in the Clifton wastewater treatment plant reclamation pond system to act as a natural filter system and improve the performance of the facility.
Clifton is located in Queensland, about 2 hours from Brisbane.
The floating wetlands will be part of an innovative project to minimise the growth of algae and removing Total Suspended Solids (TSS) in the environment. These treatment wetlands will also reduce nutrient in the environment.
SPEL floating wetlands are made from recycled PET plastic drink bottles. The recycled plastic is made into a non-woven, non-toxic, durable matrix of fibres. Dense and porous, it is extremely inert and has been coated in a UV-resistant resin.
The media is open and porous in structure, which enables the plants’ roots to spread and create a vast activated surface area. Microbes and bacteria adhere to the roots and the microscopic root hairs of the plants and within the fibrous media. They trap and settle total suspended solids (TSS) as well as digest the organic matter/nutrients, including biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), nitrogen and phosphorous.
As we get more data on this project, we will update this case study accordingly.