Enhancing Water Quality of Panchaganga River in Kolhapur, Maharashtra: A Study on the Efficacy of Vertical Flow Constructed Wetland System

Wastewater is a major threat to the natural water streams, damaging their ecological balance and aquatic environments. Untreated wastewater streams from both domestic and industrial effluents pollute natural streams, which further causes several health and environmental concerns for human society. This study explores the efficacy of the Vertical Flow Constructed Wetland (VFCW) system for the benefit of recovering the Panchaganga river passing through the city of Kolhapur, Maharashtra, India. Jayanthi Nallah is the major contributor to stream pollution. Hence, the pollution load has been evaluated for the grab integrated samples from six different sampling locations by analyzing physicochemical parameters such as biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), total suspended solids (TSS), total phosphorus (TP), and total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN) in this study. A lab-scale model of VFCW with the dimensions of 0.62 m*0.70 m*0.45 m was developed for phytoremediation using three different combinations of locally available plant species (Canna indica, Canna indica & Typha, and Canna indica & Cyperus rotundus) and their treatment efficiencies were evaluated for three different hydraulic loading rates of 0.12 m3/m2/hr., 0.18 m3/m2/hr., and 0.24 m3/m2/hr. The treated water from all three plant combinations had all the parameters well below the regulating standards when the hydraulic loading rate was fixed at 0.18 m3/m2/hr. The VFCW balances treatment efficiency and cost, making it a sustainable wastewater treatment technology.