Evaluating the efficiency of toxicity abatement in a constructed wetland with Ceriodaphnia dubia.

Constructed wetlands are becoming increasingly popular as low-cost, high-efficiency means of treating agricultural and municipal wastewaters. Monitoring programs for constructed wetlands usually measure physical and chemical characteristics of wetland treatment, including hydraulic residence time and removal of nutrients (N, P), suspended solids, and biochemical oxygen demand (BOD). However, toxicity abatement is seldom measured as evidence of wetland treatment efficiency. In this study, toxicity tests combined with chemical measurements were employed to measure the efficiency of a constructed wetland in treating swine wastes during fall and winter sampling periods. Although the wetland system operated at three wastewater loading rates, only the high-loading-rate cells were tested because of their year-round flows. Wastewater samples were collected prior to, during, and following wetland treatment to track treatment progress as effluents passed through the wetland cells. Toxicity tests with Ceriodaphnia dubia showed significant toxicity abatement of wastewater as it progressed through the constructed wetland system; however, residual toxicity was still observed in the final wetland effluent. No seasonal differences were observed in toxicity abatement between fall and winter wastewater samples, although nitrate and BOD were removed more efficiently during the fall. Results suggest that, while the constructed wetland system is effective in reducing toxicity in swine wastewater, further pre- or posttreatment or additional dilution is necessary before treated effluents are discharged into surface water.