Jackalope

Here's a picture/sketch of what I'm imagining. along with some comments.

https://picasaweb.google.com/jbthomp...eat=directlink

A couple of principles I've derived from a reading of the literature on Constructed Wetlands (CW):

1) Residence of water in treatment zone is especially important for Total Phosophorous (TP) removal
2) Oxygenation of treatment zone is especially important for Total Suspended Solids (TSS), Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD), Fecal coliforms and Total Nitrogen (TN) removal, and has been shown to reduce the area required for treatment of a given quantity and quality of wastewater.
3) The inclusion of plants has been shown to increase removal of TSS, TN and TP, particularly in aerobic conditions.
4) Inclusion of baffling in Horizontal SubSurface Flow (HSSF) -CW can improve the removal of TSS and dentrification by increasing the residence time in the treatment zone and prevents the formation of preferential water routs through the wetland.
5) Inclusion of earthworms in Vertical SubSurface Flow (VSSF) -CW’s and Sand Beds has been shown to effectively combat clogging of the system by biosolids and may increase the uptake of nutrients by plants. Effects persistent as long as worms are alive.
6) Oxygenation by Tidal Flow-CW > VSSF-CW [w/intermittent loading] > VSSF-CW [with continuous loading] > Ebb & Flow HSSF-CW > continuous HSSF-CW. [Pulse-feeding is similar to ebb and flow.]
7) Hybrid sytems of constructed wetland that combine aerobic and anaerobic conditions have been shown to have greater ability to treat wastewater through varied chemical processes in those environments.
8) Highly Porous media like expanded shale has been shown to improve the filtering properties of CW by increasing oxygenation, surface area for bacterium, and improved adsorption abilities


Now to actually talk to an engineer!