See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/230749867

Development of a horizontal subsurface flow modular constructed wetland for

urban runoff treatment

Article  in  Water Science & Technology · August 2012

DOI: 10.2166/wst.2012.306 · Source: PubMed

CITATIONS READS

13 340

6 authors, including:

Marla Chua Maniquiz-Redillas Franz Kevin Fernandez Geronimo

De La Salle University-Manila (current) / Kongju National University-Korea (previo… World Water Council
88 PUBLICATIONS   981 CITATIONS    35 PUBLICATIONS   290 CITATIONS   

SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE

Soyoung Lee Lee-Hyung Kim

National Institute of Environmental Research Kongju National University
58 PUBLICATIONS   495 CITATIONS    248 PUBLICATIONS   2,745 CITATIONS   

SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE

All content following this page was uploaded by Soyoung Lee on 28 April 2014.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

 Provided for non-commercial research and educational use only.
Not for reproduction or distribution or commercial use.

This article was originally published by IWA Publishing. IWA Publishing recognizes
the retention of the right by the author(s) to photocopy or make single electronic
copies of the paper for their own personal use, including for their own classroom use,
or the personal use of colleagues, provided the copies are not offered for sale and
are not distributed in a systematic way outside of their employing institution.

Please note that you are not permitted to post the IWA Publishing PDF version of
your paper on your own website or your institution’s website or repository.

Please direct any queries regarding use or permissions to wst@iwap.co.uk

 1950 © IWA Publishing 2012 Water Science & Technology | 66.9 | 2012

Development of a horizontal subsurface flow modular

constructed wetland for urban runoff treatment
J. Y. Choi, M. C. Maniquiz, F. K. Geronimo, S. Y. Lee, B. S. Lee and L. H. Kim

ABSTRACT
J. Y. Choi
Constructed wetlands (CWs) are well recognized as having low construction and maintenance
M. C. Maniquiz
cost and low energy requirement. However, CW design has been mainly based on rule-of- F. K. Geronimo
S. Y. Lee
thumb approaches. In this study, the efficiency of a modular horizontal subsurface flow (HSSF) B. S. Lee
L. H. Kim (corresponding author)
CW using four different design schemes was investigated. Based on the results, the four systems Dept. of Civil & Environ. Engineering,
Kongju National University,
have attained more than 90% removal of total suspended solids and more than 50% removal
Cheonan,
efficiency for total phosphorus, PO4-P and Zn. The planted system achieved higher pollutant removal Chungnamdo 331-717,
Korea
rates than the unplanted system. In terms of media, bottom ash was more effective than woodchip E-mail: leehyung@kongju.ac.kr

in reducing the pollutants. Considering the flow length, optimum removal efficiency was achieved
after passing the sedimentation tank and vertical media layer; with respect to depth, more pollutants
were removed in the upper sand layer than in the lower gravel layer. This study recommended a
surface area of 0.25 to 0.8% of catchment area for planted CW and 0.26 to 0.9% for unplanted CW
using the 7.5 to 10 mm design rainfall.
Key words | design application, horizontal subsurface flow, modular constructed wetland, urban

INTRODUCTION

Generally, nonpoint source (NPS) pollutants are caused by
various land uses. Imperviousness in cities with conventional
drainage systems causes urban stormwater pollution as well
as increased runoff volumes and peak flows. Dietz & Clausen
() briefly summarized a variety of impacts with increased
impervious cover. Increasing environmental concerns and
recent advances in stormwater management, including low
impact development (LID) technology have provided engin-
eers with a variety of tools to use in place of traditional catch
basins and detention ponds. Current stormwater design in
most municipalities mitigates peak flow rates, but does not
address the increases in stormwater volume associated with
development. Cluster designs, constructed wetland (CW),
bioretention, infiltration trench, grassed swales, rain gardens,
and pervious pavements all contribute to a reduced overall
impervious footprint, and encourage decentralized treatment
and infiltration of stormwater runoff.
CWs are effective treatment systems and a simple tech-
nology that involves low operational costs. Furthermore,
these treatment systems are good at removing not only
pathogens and nutrients but also toxic metals and organic
pollutants (Belmont et al. ). Pollutants in CWs are
removed through a combination of physical, chemical, and
biological processes including sedimentation, precipitation,
adsorption, assimilation by the plant tissue and microbial
transformations. In a horizontal subsurface flow (HSSF)
CW, the water is fed in the influent and continues its way
under the surface of the bed in a more or less horizontal
path until it reaches the effluent zone. The HSSF CW can
provide a reliable secondary level of treatment with regard
to biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and total suspended
solids (TSS) but frequently is less effective for nitrogen
removal, unless a longer hydraulic retention time and
enough oxygenation are provided (Liu et al. ). In the
USA as well as in Europe, most systems operate with
HSSF CW. Particularly, there is around 8,000 CW facilities
in the USA while, in Germany, the estimation is approxi-
mately 50,000 (Vymazal ). Until now, CW design has
been mainly based on rules-of-thumb approaches (guide-
lines) using specific surface area requirements (Brix &
Johansen ) or simple first-order decay models
(Rousseau et al. ; Kadlec & Knight ). In Korea,
the guidelines in designing CWs are inadequate and
still lacking. Table 1 summarizes the design characteristics

doi: 10.2166/wst.2012.306
 1951 J. Y. Choi et al. | Development of horizontal subsurface flow modular constructed wetland Water Science & Technology | 66.9 | 2012

Table 1 | Design characteristics of HSSF CW surveyed from literature studies

Removal Efficiency (%)

Reference Influent wastewater Volume (m3) Aspect ratio (L:W:H) Media (Particle size, mm) Plant TSS COD TN TP

Zurita et al. () Domestic 0.97 4:1:0.3 Gravel (12) Calla 79 76 58 45

Yoon et al. () Domestic 18 4.5:1:0.5 Sand Reed 70 – 30 57
Akratos & Tsihrintzis () Domestic 2.25 4:1:1.7 Gravel (0.25–16.0) Reed – 90 – 82
Melian et al. () Urban 0.33 2.2:1:0.9 Gravel (6.5) Reed 75 40 – –
Fountoulakis et al. () Domestic 3 – Gravel (10–100) Reed 78 70 21 40

and treatment capability of HSSF CW from different litera-
ture studies. The HSSF CW shows high TSS and chemical
oxygen demand (COD) removal efficiency while it shows
low nutrient removal efficiency. The increasing application
of CWs for treatment system and strict water quality stan-
dards is an ever growing incentive for the development of
better process design tools (Rousseau et al. ). Therefore,
this study investigated the pollutant removal efficiency of a
modular HSSF CW system using four different design
schemes with respect to flow length, depth and plant
growth rate. Based on the water quality and performance
data, the most efficient scheme was selected. Furthermore,
design guidelines were recommended for onsite application
of similar systems in the future.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Constructed wetland design
The overall design and considerations incorporated in this
study were based on the studies presented in Table 1. Best
management practices (BMPs) are commonly designed con-
sidering the water quality volume (WQV), which can be
determined by several methods. In Korea, this WQV is the
first-flush design runoff volume expressed in depth per drai-
nage area multiplied by the area that is draining into the
BMP. According to design consideration, this study selected
a first-flush capture volume of 5 mm of rainfall per drainage
area (MLTM ; MOE ). The flow rates 33.47, 66.94
and 133.89 cm3/s used for CW operation represent the
three major rainfalls of 5, 10 and 20 mm, respectively,
which were the dominant rainfall ranges in Korea applied
to 120.5 m2 catchment area. These rainfall ranges were
selected because 70 to 80% of the total numbers of storm
events per year in Korea were mostly below 10–20 mm
and rainfall greater than 20 mm was infrequent (Maniquiz
et al. ).
The schematic of the modular HSSF CW designed for
this study is presented in Figure 1. The bench-scale exper-
imental system consisted of two main parts, a
sedimentation tank and media/plant area. The water table
in the sedimentation tank and media/plant area has the
same elevation, which resulted in the influent flowing

Figure 1 | Schematic of the modular HSSF CW.

 1952 J. Y. Choi et al. | Development of horizontal subsurface flow modular constructed wetland
horizontally from the sedimentation tank to the media/plant
area. The horizontal flow path was verified using flow path
test. The sedimentation tank captures and allows the large
particles to settle and the media/plant further enhances the
treatment process by means of the mechanisms of filtration,
adsorption, and plant uptake. In case of excessive runoff due
to heavy flow and loading, an overflow channel with gravel
media was also included in the system. The vertical media
layer containing either woodchip or bottom ash
was installed after the sedimentation tank to minimize the
clogging to the media/plant area. Perforated underdrain
pipes were also installed at the bottom of the media/plant
area to uniformly distribute the flow to the system. Four
different types of filter material were used in the experimen-
tal systems: sand, gravel, bottom ash and woodchip (Table 2).
Three-month-old reed (Phragmites australis) and cattail
(Typha angustata) with average height of 26 and 78 cm,
respectively, were initially planted in the HSSF CW.
The population density of the plants used in the study was
66.7 plants/m2 for each plant. The reed dried biomass in
November was 129.5 g/m2 while cattail had 78.5 g/m2.
Measurement of the biomass was done during November
as the population of the plants in the bench-scale HSSF
CW was not enough for monthly biomass monitoring. Reed
was planted before the cattail at the first half of the media/
plant area because of its high potential productivity, deep rhi-
zome and root system, ready propagation and wide
distribution of this species, which have made it the most
commonly planted species in constructed wetlands around
the world (Tanner ).
Experimental and data collection
The influent used was a synthetic runoff prepared in the
laboratory by the addition of 150 μm dry sediment from the
road, after sieving (passed the #100 mesh), to tap water in
Table 2 | Physical properties of filter material
Parameter Sand Gravel Gravel
Size (mm) 2–5 10–20 20–30
Porosity (%) 40 42 46
Specific 2.53 2.64 2.62
gravity
Uniformity 1.7 1.6 1.7
coefficient
Permeability 1.32 1.52 2.16
(cm/s)
Water Science & Technology | 66.9 | 2012
the amount needed to achieve typical stormwater pollutant
concentrations. After mixing, TSS was measured and the
average mean concentration was 150 mg/L. Four experimen-
tal sets were monitored: (1) planted with vertical woodchip
media layer (WP), (2) planted with vertical bottom
ash media layer (BP), (3) unplanted with vertical woodchip
media layer (W), (4) unplanted with vertical bottom ash
media layer (B). A total of 12 test runs was performed every
two weeks and the influent and effluent samples were col-
lected after 0, 30, 60, 120, 180, 240 min. In addition,
samples were also collected at the media/plant area from
12 sampling ports shown in Figure 1 spaced 20 cm length-
wise (three ports) and crosswise (four ports). Samples were
analyzed for water quality parameters including TSS, chemi-
cal oxygen demand (COD) total nitrogen (TN), ammonium
(NH4-N), total phosphorus (TP), phosphate (PO4-P) and
heavy metals (Pb, Zn). Analytic analyses were conducted in
accordance with the standard methods for the examination
of water and wastewater (Greenberg et al. ).
Calculations and data analyses
The flow-weighted mean concentration (FMC) was calcu-
lated for each test run as the average concentration
considering the total input volume to the system.
Pn
i¼1 (Ci × ti × qi )
FMC ðmg=LÞ ¼ P n (1)
i¼1 (ti × qi )
where: Ci ¼ pollutant concentration at time i, mg/L; qi ¼
flow in the ith sample; n ¼ total number of samples for the
time period. The removal efficiency (RE) was calculated
based on the ‘efficiency ratio (ER) method’ defined in
terms of average removal efficiency of pollutants for the
time period (U.S. EPA ).
RE (%)
Average influent FMC  Average effluent FMC
¼
Average influent FMC
Bottom
(2)
ash Woodchip
1–2 10–20
37 43
2.43 1.08 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
1.5 1.6 Overall pollutant removal efficiency
1.03 1.86
The influent and effluent mean (± S.D.) FMCs are summar-
ized in Table 3. TSS, COD and TP were highly reduced to
 1953
J. Y. Choi et al.
|
Development of horizontal subsurface flow modular constructed wetland
Table 3 | FMCs and removal efficiency for each type of CW (mean ± S.D.)

WP W BP B

Parameter FMC (mg/L) RE (%) FMC (mg/L) RE (%) FMC (mg/L) RE (%) FMC (mg/L) RE (%)

TSS Influent 146.1 ± 44.7 95.5 ± 2.2 145.3 ± 44.7 91.5 ± 4.2 137.7 ± 9.8 95.2 ± 1.3 137.3 ± 9.2 94.7 ± 1.1
Effluent 6.7 ± 4.5 13.5 ± 10.5 6.5 ± 1.2 7.3 ± 1.9
COD Influent 26.3 ± 0.9 70.4 ± 7.4 26.5 ± 1.1 43.4 ± 6.6 31.7 ± 2.6 81.6 ± 6.4 31.6 ± 2.3 73.9 ± 3.5
Effluent 7.8 ± 2.0 15.1 ± 2.3 5.9 ± 2.2 8.1 ± 0.6
TN Influent 3.71 ± 1.49 28.2 ± 2.5 3.87 ± 1.93 21.4 ± 2.4 4.51 ± 0.69 34.9 ± 10.4 4.07 ± 0.39 23.1 ± 8.1
Effluent 2.70 ± 1.49 3.06 ± 1.56 2.99 ± 0.90 3.12 ± 0.39
TKN Influent 1.70 ± 0.49 23.4 ± 5.9 1.66 ± 0.49 14.9 ± 2.8 2.91 ± 0.77 38.2 ± 10.8 2.67 ± 0.59 31.8 ± 13.7
Effluent 1.32 ± 0.49 1.41 ± 0.39 1.85 ± 0.73 1.87 ± 0.73
TP Influent 0.36 ± 0.04 78.3 ± 5.5 0.35 ± 0.15 55.7 ± 17.8 0.50 ± 0.02 90.7 ± 3.5 0.48 ± 0.06 88.1 ± 1.8
Effluent 0.08 ± 0.04 0.14 ± 0.06 0.05 ± 0.02 0.06 ± 0.001
PO4-P Influent 0.011 ± 0.002 68.7 ± 8.2 0.012 ± 0.001 53.5 ± 5.7 0.013 ± 0.003 69.4 ± 9.4 0.013 ± 0.002 54.5 ± 15.0
Effluent 0.003 ± 0.000 0.005 ± 0.001 0.004 ± 0.002 0.006 ± 0.002
Pb Influent 0.133 ± 0.059 28.4 ± 16.6 0.143 ± 0.047 18.6 ± 2.0 0.145 ± 0.030 57.3 ± 14.0 0.169 ± 0.059 54.4 ± 9.0
Effluent 0.100 ± 0.059 0.117 ± 0.039 0.059 ± 0.007 0.078 ± 0.037
Zn Influent 0.423 ± 0.047 59.1 ± 9.9 0.425 ± 0.101 55.5 ± 4.7 0.410 ± 0.036 70.5 ± 1.8 0.418 ± 0.041 64.9 ± 10.0
Effluent 0.170 ± 0.047 0.188 ± 0.044 0.121 ± 0.011 0.147 ± 0.048

Water Science & Technology

|
66.9
|
2012
 1954 J. Y. Choi et al. | Development of horizontal subsurface flow modular constructed wetland
more than half of its value in the influent. Also the overall
average removal efficiency of the four types of CW calculated
using the ER determination method is shown in Table 3. The
highest removal efficiency was achieved for TSS with greater
than 90% removal. The TN and total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN)
merely attained less than 50% removal efficiencies. The BP
CW showed the highest efficiency compared with the other
three types of CW, with the exception of TSS. The TN and
PO4-P were reduced effectively by BP CW (35 and 55%)
and WP CW (28 and 69%), followed by B CW (23 and
54%) and W CW (21 and 54%). The plants might have pro-
vided a more effective distribution of the root system and a
habitat for more diverse microbial population than the mono-
culture systems (Zurita et al. ). By contrast, the W CW
had lower efficiency in the reduction of most pollutants.
Removal efficiency with respect to length and depth
In order to find the optimal depth and length, the water
samples from media layers were collected at three
Figure 2 | Pollutant removal efficiency with respect to normalized flow length and media depth.
Water Science & Technology | 66.9 | 2012
vertical and four horizontal points. The vertical points
were placed in sand layer (10 cm from top), bottom of
sand layer (30 cm from top) and bottom of CW (50 cm
from top). Two of the horizontal points were placed in
sand layer and two in media (woodchip/bottom ash
layer) layers. The HSSF CW showed a distinct pattern
of changes in pollutant reduction along the flow length
(Figure 2). Most pollutants achieved 90% removal
efficiency by sedimentation and filtration at approxi-
mately 71 cm from the inflow, which was after passing
the sedimentation tank and vertical media layer.
Considering only the high removal efficiency of the
pollutants other than TN, similar HSSF wetlands
can be designed with a minimum length of 71 cm.
Based on the findings, the biggest pollutant reduction
was achieved at 126 cm from the inflow length.
It means the system can be designed by decreasing the
length by at least 24 cm, representing the economic opti-
mum and effective length in this CW. However, HSSF
CW design should also incorporate the capacity of the
 1955 J. Y. Choi et al. | Development of horizontal subsurface flow modular constructed wetland Water Science & Technology | 66.9 | 2012

system to retain the design rainfall and develop a larger

green space.
When the pollutant reduction was compared vertically,
the highest pollutant reduction was achieved in first top
point by filtration and plant uptake. The plant roots pene-
trated to the upper 10 to 20 cm of the CW sand media
depth and it affected pollutant reduction. According to
Tanner et al. (), also oxygen penetration affecting
microbial activity could be expected up to this depth. Due
to these results, the economic optimum media depth in
this CW be at least 20 cm to ensure the pollutant removal
efficiency of the system. However, considering the retention
capacity of the system for the design rainfall and plant survi-
val the media depth should be increased.

Removal efficiency with respect to plant growth rate

The growth rate of cattail and reed were monitored during

June to September 2010. The change in plant height with
the corresponding removal rates during the monitored
period is shown in Figure 3. The cattail reached its maxi-
mum growth rate of 19.8 mm/day during July while the
reed reached its maximum growth rate of 7.6 mm/day in
August. The cattail grew and withered faster than the reed.
The reed grew gradually and attained its maximum height
at 54 cm in the last summer month of September. The
reed growth rate was found to be significantly correlated
with the cattail (p ¼ 0.018). The plants’ growth rate also
exhibited high positive correlations with TN and TP removal
efficiency. The reed growth rate was correlated with TN
(r ¼ 0.608) and TP (r ¼ 0.761). Cattail growth rate showed
also high correlations with r values of 0.664 and 0.756 for
TN and TP, respectively. On the other hand, the TSS and
COD removal efficiencies were not highly correlated with
the plants. The pollutant removal efficiencies in the planted Figure 3 | Pollutant removal efficiency with respect to plant growth rate in the CW.

CW were mostly higher than the unplanted CW. The

greatest difference was in the COD removal of planted
CW, with an average of 40% higher than unplanted CW.
In addition, the removal of TN and TP in the planted
CW was 16 and 20% higher than the unplanted CW
during the plant growing season. The plant creates
good conditions for assimilating pollutants in its tissue and
provides an environment for microorganisms to grow
(Vymazal ).
Design application
Based on the data collected and the physical design of the
system, regression plots were constructed by calculating the
ratio of facility surface area to catchment area (SA/CA) for
various design rainfall based on hydraulic loading rate and
an estimated runoff coefficient of 0.8 and plotting against
the removal rates of selected constituents. Figure 4 shows
the corresponding Zn and Pb removal with respect to
SA/CA ratios for selected design rainfall. It should be
noted that the limit of SA/CA ratio was determined as
the SA/CA ratio corresponding to the maximum removal
efficiency with design rainfall. Considering Zn removal,
the SA/CA ratio limits for the planted CW were 0.0015
to 0.025, and 0.002 to 0.026 for the unplanted CW. Consid-
ering the Pb removal, the SA/CA ratio limits were 0.0012
 1956 J. Y. Choi et al. | Development of horizontal subsurface flow modular constructed wetland Water Science & Technology | 66.9 | 2012

Figure 4 | SA/CA ratio with respect to Zn and Pb removal efficiency and design rainfall depth.

to 0.022 and 0.0015 to 0.025 for planted and unplanted Table 4 | Design recommendations

CW, respectively. Higher SA/CA ratio was required for

Recommended
unplanted than planted CW as the planted CW obtained Design criteria value
higher removal performance compared with the unplanted
Length to width ratio Maximum of 3:1
CW. Therefore, the planted CW SA/CA ratio is rec-
Depth to width ratio Minimum of 1:2
ommended due to its efficiency and economical aspect.
Sedimentation tank surface area to surface area At least 1:4.7
The SA/CA ratio could be applied as guideline is designing
of CW ratio
similar systems in the future. The importance of proper
Media layer surface area to surface area of CW At least 1:1.7
CW sizing was recognized in early design guidelines pub- ratio
lished by the state of Maryland, USA, which
Sedimentation tank volume to total volume of At least 1:4.7
recommended that the surface area of CW be at least 3% CW ratio
of the contributing CA (MDE ). More recent guidelines
recommend both a minimum SA/CA ratio of 1–2% and a
treatment volume large enough to capture 90% of all
storm events and 1:1 length to width ratio (Schueler CONCLUSIONS
). The design criterion for treatable volume in Korea
was based on an accumulated rainfall of at least 5 or It is generally accepted that CWs are effective, economic
7.5 mm by the Ministry of Environment (MOE) and Minis- and ecological treatment systems. Based on the results of
try of Land, Transportation and Maritime Affairs (MLTM), this study, the four types of CW obtained satisfactory pollu-
respectively. Lee et al. () analyzed the first-flush runoff tant removal and ranked from highest to lowest as follows:
criterion according to runoff volume and treated mass. The BP > B > WP > W CW. Compared with previous studies
study reported that using 5 mm rainfall was supposedly about HSSF CW, the TP removal efficiency of this system
safe, but still the quality of the treated water might not pro- was high, ranging from 56 to 91%. The planted system
duce acceptable results. The study concluded that it was achieved higher pollutant removal rates than the unplanted
best to design the BMP according to 7.5 mm rainfall as system, and the bottom ash media was more effective than
the lower limit. Based on the results of this study, some rec- woodchip in reducing the pollutants. Considering the flow
ommendations on the design criteria were generalized and length, optimum removal efficiency was achieved after pas-
are presented in Table 4. The design recommendations sing the sedimentation tank and vertical media layer, while
were achieved using the research results and Table 1. with respect to depth more pollutants were removed in the
 1957 J. Y. Choi et al. | Development of horizontal subsurface flow modular constructed wetland
upper sand layer than the lower gravel layer. The reed and
cattail growth rates were correlated with nutrient removal
with Pearson r value of 0.608 and 0.664 for TN while
0.761 and 0.756 for TP, respectively. Therefore, the plants
create good conditions for the removal of pollutants. Finally,
this study recommended a surface area of 0.25 to 0.8% of
catchment area for planted CW and 0.26 to 0.9% for
unplanted CW using the 7.5 to 10 mm design rainfall. It
should be noted that these are only guidelines resulting
from the study and must be used cautiously.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This research was supported by a grant (Code#’09 RTIP B-
01) from Regional Technology Innovation Program (RTIP)
funded by Ministry of Land Transport and Maritime affairs
of Korea government.
REFERENCES
Akratos, C. S. & Tsihrintzis, V. A.  Effect of temperature,
HRT, vegetation and porous media on removal efficiency of
pilot-scale horizontal subsurface flow constructed wetlands.
Ecological Engineering 29, 173–191.
Belmont, M. A., Ikonomou, M. & Metcalfe, C. D.  Presence of
nonylphenol ethoxylate surfactants in a watershed in central
Mexico and removal from domestic sewage in a treatment
wetland. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 25 (1), 29–35.
Brix, H. & Johansen, N. H.  Guidelines for Vertical Flow
Constructed Wetland System up to 30 PE. No. 52,
Copenhagen, Denmark.
Dietz, M. E. & Clausen, J. C.  Stormwater runoff and export
changes with development in a traditional and low impact
subdivision. Journal of Environmental Management 87 (4),
560–566.
Fountoulakis, M. S., Terzakis, S., Kalogerakis, N. & Manios, T.
 Removal of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and
linear alkylbenzene sulfonates from domestic wastewater in
pilot constructed wetlands and a gravel filter. Ecological
Engineering 35, 1702–1709.
Greenberg, A. E., Clesceri, L. S., Eaton, A. D., American Public
Health Association (APHA), American Water Works
Association & Water Environment Federation.  Standard
Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater.
18th edition. APHA, Washington, DC.
Kadlec, R. H. & Knight, R. L.  Treatment Wetlands. 2nd edn.,
CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, USA.
Lee, E. J., Maniquiz, M. C., Gorme, J. B. & Kim, L. H. 
Determination of cost-effective first flush criteria for BMP
sizing. Desalination and Water Treatment 19, 157–163.
First received 19 December 2011; accepted in revised form 25 April 2012
View publication stats
Water Science & Technology | 66.9 | 2012
Liu, W., Dahab, M. F. & Surampalli, R. Y.  Nitrogen
transformations modeling in subsurface-flow constructed
wetlands. Water Environment Research 77 (3), 246–258.
Maniquiz, M. C., Choi, J. Y., Lee, S. Y., Cho, H. J. & Kim, L. H.
 Appropriate methods in determining event mean
concentration and pollutant removal efficiency of a best
management practice. Environmental Engineering Research
15 (4), 215–223.
Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE)  Water
Management Administration. Guidelines for Constructing
Wetland Stormwater Basins.
Melian, J. A. H., Rodriguez, A. J. M., Arana, J., Diaz, O. G. &
Henriquez, J. J. G.  Hybrid constructed wetlands for
wastewater treatment and reuse in the Canary Islands.
Ecological Engineering 36, 891–899.
Ministry of Environment (MOE)  Manual for the BMPs
Installation, Management and Maintenance. Ministry of
Environment, Seoul, Korea.
Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs (MLTM) 
Guidelines for the Friendly Road Construction. Ministry of
Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs, Seoul, Korea.
Rousseau, D. P. L., Vanrollegham, P. A. & Pauw, N. D. 
Model based design of horizontal subsurface flow
constructed treatment wetlands: a review. Water Research
38 (6), 1484–1493.
Schueler, T. R.  Design of Stormwater Wetland Systems:
Guidelines for Creating Effective and Diverse Stormwater
Wetlands in the Mid-Atlantic Region. Metropolitan
Washington Council of Governments.
Tanner, C. C.  Plants for constructed wetland treatment
systems – A comparison of the growth and nutrient uptake
of eight emergent species. Ecological Engineering 7 (1),
59–83.
Tanner, C. C., Clayton, J. S. & Upsdell, M. P.  Effect of loading
rate and planting on treatment of dairy farm waste waters in
constructed wetlands-II Removal of nitrogen and
phosphorous. Water Research 29 (1), 27–34.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA)  Results of
the Nationwide Urban Runoff Program, volume I – Final
Report. Water Planning Division, U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, Washington DC, USA.
Vymazal, J.  The use of sub-surface constructed wetlands for
wastewater treatment in the Czech Republic: 10 years
experience. Ecological Engineering 18 (5), 633–646.
Vymazal, J.  Horizontal sub-surface flow and hybrid
constructed wetland systems for wastewater treatment.
Ecological Engineering 25 (5), 478–490.
Yoon, C. G., Kwun, S. K., Woo, S. T. & Kwon, T. Y.  Review of
3-year experimental data from treatment wetland for water
quality improvement in rural area. Journal of Korean Society
on Water Environment 15 (4), 518–589 (in Korean).
Zurita, F., Anda, J. D. & Belmont, M. A.  Treatment of
domestic wastewater and production of commercial flowers
in vertical and horizontal subsurface-flow constructed
wetlands. Ecological Engineering 35 (5), 861–869.