Constructed Wetlands Treatment of an Automotive Bedliner Manufacturer’s Wastewater Art Kuljian, P.E., BCEE, Kevin Olmstead, Ph.D., P.E., Tammy Rabideau, CPG, Jamie Meikle WEFTEC 2009 October 14, 2009

Outline Background Timeline Construction and Startup System Description Treatment Cells and Lagoons Wetland Plantings Tertiary Filtration System Performance System Observations Summary

Background Truck bedliner manufacturing operation in Lapeer, Michigan Mixed sanitary and process wastewater from plastic extrusion and thermoforming operations Previous unlined lagoon system ineffective Restrictive groundwater discharge limits Switched to wetland wastewater treatment “First-in-the-State” in Michigan for an industrial application

Constructed Wetlands Advantages Passive, self-regenerative treatment process, given proper harvesting of dominant plants Low environmental impact Little need for operator attention Large buffering capacity to accommodate system variances Habitats for wetland species Short implementation schedule

Timeline Characterization – June 1999 Pilot Study – August 1999 Design/Build Proposal – January 2000 Begin Construction – April 2000 System Startup – August 2000 Phase 2 Expansion – April 2006 Phase 2 Commissioning – October 2006 In continuous operation since November 2000

Relative Removals During Pilot Testing

Construction and Startup Wetland comprised of over 27,000 native plants Installed over 160,000 ft2 PVC liner and earth bed Seeded startup with activated sludge from POTW Temporary winter storage of wastewater in HDPE lined lagoons underlain with bentonite-sand layer Final polishing in 150 ft2 tertiary sand filter building UV disinfection prior to surface water discharge

System Description 20,000 gallon/day (gpd) design flow rate, 90 day HRT 4 acre lined wetland treatment system - 2 winter storage lagoons (900,000 gal.each) - 2 primary cells (0.6 acre capacity) - secondary treatment cell (2.5 acre capacity) - tertiary treatment cell (0.9 acre capacity) Continuous downflow sand filter rated at 5 gpm/ft2 Disinfection w/ultraviolet (UV) radiation Flow monitoring structure and discharge to Plum Creek

Process Flow Diagram

Plantings—Primary Cells SPECIES COMMON NAME QUANTITY Nuphar lutea Yellow Lilly 1,700 Eleodea Canadensis Broad water weed 500 Typha latifolia Broad leaf cattail 50

Plantings---Secondary Cells SPECIES COMMON NAME QUANTITY Typha latifolia Broad leaf cattail 5,000 Carex lacustris Lake Sedge 3,000 Scirpus acutus Hard-Stem Bulrush 1,500 Scirpus validus (tabernaeontani) Soft-Stem Bulrush 2,200 Sagittaria latifolia Broad-Leaf Arrowhead 4,500 Alisma plantago-aquatica Water plantain Pontederia cordata Pickerelweed 750 Sparganium eurycarpum Giant Bur-reed 3,500 Polygonum hydroperiodes Smartweed 500 Polygonum amphibium 2,000 Eleodea Canadensis Broad water weed

System Performance Significant treatment occurs in the primary cells: - BOD and TSS are reduced ~ 60% to 70% - NH3-N is reduced ~ 85% to 95% - Total P is reduced ~ 60% to 70% Flowthrough, facultative treatment occurs in the primary cells, with an HRT of ~ 12 days Vegetative growth in the secondary and tertiary cells results in mass removals for all target parameters of 90% to 95%

System Removal Performance Parameter Influent Primary Cell Discharge Final Discharge BOD5 (mg/l) 12 to 248 9 to 66 1.5 to 7.1 TSS (mg/l) 54 to 122 16 to 80 4 to 20 NH3-N (mg/l) 16 to 46 0.2 to 7.4 0.14 to 2 TP (mg/l) 3.4 to 8.6 0.4 to 5.5 0.1 to 0.5

Effluent BOD

Effluent TSS

Effluent NH3-N

Effluent P

Original Site

Lagoon Preparation

Cell Preparation

Sand-Bentonite Underlayer

Lagoon Liner Installation

Treatment Cell Liner Installation

Flow Distribution Berm Construction

Initial Planting

Water Plantains and Bulrushes in Secondary Cell

Acclimated Plantings

Winter Storage Lagoon This is the wastewater storage lagoon (lined)

Artistic Shot of Storage Lagoon

Secondary Cell

Your’s Truly on the Berm

Tertiary Cell with Water Depth Gauge

Tertiary Cell

Final Treatment Building

Volcano™ Continuous Downflow Sand Filter

UV Disinfection and Flow Monitoring

Toad on Top of Things at the UV Chamber

Site Observations Nutrient uptake in wetland vegetation was poor during the winter months and good to excellent remainder of the year Operations labor minimal - <2 hours/8 hour shift Normal operation requires no chemical addition Maintaining water operating depth of <18” is vital for emergent vegetation to occur Presence of wildlife indicative of a healthy habitat

Performance Summary 95% removal of BOD5, TSS, NH3-N and P is achievable Effluent NH3-N of 0.5 mg/L and P of 0.2 mg/L Primary cells provide equalization and treatment prior to discharge to secondary and tertiary cells Effluent BOD5 has averaged 3 mg/L and TSS has averaged 5 mg/L since installation of the sand filter

Lessons Learned Ensure C:N:P ratio of 100:5:1 is available in wastewater feed Maintain wetland water temperature >50°F (10°C); otherwise, winter storage may be needed Backwash of sand filter at 2% to 5% of flow aids insoluble nutrient removal Periodic lamp cleaning via citric acid and/or sodium hypochlorite every 2 to 3 months Annual harvesting of dominant plants (e.g., cattails) helps ensure variation and quantities of all species Harvest duckweed before winter die-off to keep total P inventory in check

Contractor/Supplier Acknowledgements Ms. Joanne Michael, Southern Tier Consulting – West Clarksville, NY Mr. Dave Bury, North American Lining Services – Kalkaska, MI Mr. Mark Fisher, Lighthouse Filters – Dahlonega, GA Mr. Todd Desloover, Debarr Construction – Greenwood, MI Mr. H. Blair Selover, Tetra Tech – Ann Arbor, MI

Questions?