Oxygen Mass Balance Analysis in an Intermittently Aerated Wetland Receiving Stormwater from Livestock Farms

Oxygen Mass Balance Analysis in an Intermittently Aerated Wetland Receiving Stormwater from Livestock Farms

In order to assess the role of aeration in stormwater wetlands, oxygen supply and consumption in a wetland treating runoff from livestock farms were estimated and analyzed. Furthermore, oxygen mass balance was conducted during day time and night time. Internal production by algal photosynthesis dominated the oxygen production particularly in the shallow marsh due to the large amount of algae. Consequently, algal respiration was also the major oxygen depletion element with nitrification and biodegradation estimated as 5.35% and 6.43% of the total oxygen consumption. This excessive portion of oxygen consumption by algae was associated to the highly turbid water caused by the resuspension of sediment particles in the aeration pond, which also affected the subsequent wetland. Moreover, an abundance of oxygen was estimated during the day indicating that oxygen produced by algal activity is sufficient to meet the oxygen demand in the wetland. Thus, supplemental aeration was deemed not necessary at daytime. In contrast, oxygen was greatly depleted at night when algal photosynthesis stopped which induced denitrification. Therefore, it was suggested that supplemental aeration may be operated continuously instead of intermittently to avoid oxygen deficit in the wetland at night or it may be stopped entirely to further enhance denitrification.