• Magazine of the Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers
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• v.45 no.7
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• pp.70-82
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• 2003

A pilot study was performed from July 1998 to December 2002, including winter performance, to examine seasonal performance of a constructed wetland and subsequent pond system for treatment of sewage in small communities of Korea. Pond was operated as a intermittent-discharge pond during winter period, and continuous flow system during growing season; its effects was evaluated from December 2001 to April 2003. The subsurface flow (SSF) wetland was satisfactory for treating sewage with good removal efficiency even during the winter period. The wetland effluent concentrations of $BOD_5$ and TSS were often higher in winter than in the growing season, but this was explained by the higher loading rates, rather than lower removal efficiency. The relatively poor-quality wetland effluent was further polished during winter in the pond. The upper layer of the pond water column became remarkably clear immediately after ice melt. In the growing season, ponds could be operated as a continuous flow system to remove nutrients and pathogens, and the effluent of pond could be reused as a supplemental irrigation water without risk of infection by sewage-borne pathogens as well as causing adverse effect on growth and yield. Overall, the wetland system was found to be adequate for treating sewage with stable removal efficiency, and the intermittent-discharge pond was found to be effective for further polishing if necessary. Therefore, the combination of a wetland and subsequent pond system and reuse of effluent as crop irrigation water is recommended as a practical alternative to treat sewage in Korean small communities, and partial discharge of pond water in March is suggested.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.37 no.3 s.108
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• pp.344-354
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• 2004

A pilot study was performed from September 2000 to April 2004 to examine the feasibility of the wetland-pond system for the agricultural reuse of reclaimed water. The wetland system was a subsurface flow type, with a hydraulic residence time of 3.5 days, and the subsequent pond was 8 $m^3$ in volume (2 m ${\times}$ 2 m ${\times}$ 2 m) and operated with intermittent-discharge and continuous flow types. The wetland system was effective in treating the sewage; median removal efficiencies of $BOD_5$ and TSS were above 70.0%, with mean effluent concentrations of 27.1 and 16.8 mg $L^{-1}$, respectively, for these constituents. However, they did often exceed the effluent water quality standards of 20 mg $L^{-1}$. Removal of T-N and T-P was relatively less effective and mean effluent concentrations were approximately 103.2 and 7.2 mg $L^{-1}$, respectively. The wetland system demonstrated high removal rate (92 ${\sim}$ 90%) of microorganisms, but effluent concentrations were in the range of 300 ${\sim}$ 16,000 MPN 100 $mL^{-1}$ which is still high for agricultural reuse. The subsequent pond system provided further treatment of the wetland effluent, and especially additional microorganisms removal in addition to wetland-pond system could reduce the mean concentration to 1,000 MPN 100 $mL^{-1}$ from about $10^5$ MPN 100 $mL^{-1}$ of wetland influent. Other parameters in the pond system showed seasonal variation, and the upper layer of the pond water column became remarkably clear immediately after ice melt. Overall, the wetland system was found to be adequate for treating sewage with stable removal efficiency, and the subsequent pond was effective for further polishing. This study concerned agricultural reuse of reclaimed water using natural systems. Considering stable performance and effective removal of bacterial indicators as well as other water quality parameters, low maintenance, and cost-effectiveness, wetland- pond system was thought to be an effective and feasible alternative for agricultural reuse of reclaimed water in rural area.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Environment and Ecology Conference
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• 2003.10a
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• pp.105-126
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• 2003

In Korea most of annual rainfall is concentrated in several episodic heavy rains during the season of summer monsoon and typhoon. Because of uneven rainfall distribution many dams have been constructed in order to secure water supply in dry seasons. The Han River system has the most dams among Korean rivers, and the river is a series of dams now. Reservoirs need different strategy of water quality control from river water. Autochthonous organic matter and phosphorus should be the major target to be controlled in lakes. In this Paper some problems are discussed that makes efforts of water quality improvement ineffective in lakes of Korea, even after the substantial investment to wastewater treatment facilities.1) Phosphorus is the key factor controlling eutrophication of lakes and the reduction ofphosphors should be the major target of water treatment. However, water quality management strategy in Korea is still stream-oriented, and focused on BOD removal from sewage. Phosphorus removal efficiency remains as low as 10-30%, because biological treatment is adopted for both secondary treatment and advanced treatment. The standard for TP concentration of the sewage treatment plant effluent is 6 mgP/l in most of regions, and 2 mg/l in enforced region near metropolitan water intake point. TP in the effluents of sewage treatment plants are usually 1-2 mg/1, and most of plants meet the effluent regulation without a further phosphorus removal process. The generous TP standard for effluents discourages further efforts to improve phosphorus removal efficiency of sewage treatment. Considering that TP standard for the effluent is below 0.1 mg/l in some countries, it should be amended to below 0.1 mg/l in Korea, especially in the watershed of large lakes.2) Urban runoff and combined sewer overflow are not treated, even though their total loading into lakes can be comparable to municipal sewage discharges on dry days. Chemical coagulation and rapid settling might be the solution to urban runoff in regard of intermittent operation on only rainy days.3) Aggregated precipitation in Korea that is concentrated on several episodic heavyrains per year causes a large amount of nonpoint source pollution loading into lakes. It makes the treatment of nonpoint source discharge by methods of other countries of even rain pattern, such as retention pond or artificial wetland, impractical in Korea.4) The application rate of fertilizers in Korea is ten times as high as the average ofOECD countries. The total manure discharge from animal farming is thought to be over the capacity of soil treatment in Korea. Even though large portion of manure is composted for organic fertilizer, a lot of nutrients and organic matter emanates from organic compost. The reduction of application rate and discharge rate of phosphorus from agricultural fields should be encouraged by incentives and regulations.5) There is a lot of vegetable fields with high slopes in the upstream region of the HanRiver. Soil erosion is severe due to high slopes, and fertilizer is discharged in the form of adsorbed phosphorus on clay surface. The reduction of soil erosion in the upland area should be the major preventive policy for eutrophication. Uplands of high slope must be recovered to forest, and eroded gullies should be reformed into grass-buffered natural streams which are wider and resistant to bank erosion.