Constructed Wetland: Design, Operation, and Maintenance Techniques

Globally constructed wetlands (CWs) have been adopted as the green solution for wastewater treatment owing to their low economic costs, reduced energy demand, and eco-friendly approach. They are artificially created systems for wastewater treatment utilizing natural processes involving vegetation species, soil, and microbes. The CW involves several contaminant removal strategies such as phytoextraction, phytovolatilization, phytostabilization, and rhizo-filtration. It provides decentralized wastewater treatment to both rural and urban areas and offers multiple ecosystem services such as improved water quality, reuse of treated water, and biodiversity development. However, the poorly understood design criteria, operation, and maintenance of CW limits its widespread adoption and sustainability, thus presenting a setback to the technology as a whole. Poor operation and maintenance of the CW lead to negative environmental outcomes such as excessive odor, and rerelease of the contaminants into the system. Appropriate human-centered design and regular maintenance is required to ensure effective and continuous functioning of CW treatment mechanisms (physical, chemical, and biological). This chapter provides a comprehensive overview of the CW design, operation, and maintenance in the context of developing nations. The study further aims to ensure that the technology is widely accepted, implemented, and appropriately designed for effective wastewater treatment while minimizing negative environmental impacts. The classification of CW, their design criteria, operation, and maintenance are discussed in detail. Furthermore, appropriate recommendations were suggested for the confronting challenges in the design, operation, and maintenance of the CW system.