Grassed Floating Islands for Wastewater Remediation.

Vegetated floating islands can provide a simple, cost effective, low technology to reduce contaminants in wastewater systems. Unlike past technologies using aquatic vegetation to remediate wastewaters, floating islands have eliminated those drawbacks through the application of a stable hydroponic system for non-aquatic plant growth in wastewaters. Application of this technology has shown actively growing vegetation can reduce nitrogen and phosphorus while increasing wastewater dissolved oxygen and microbial degradation. Although the floating island system has shown great promise, further refinement of the system is needed.  Therefore, several grass species were evaluated to determine tolerance and nutrient uptake potential in floating mats.  Four species were established in wastewater and evaluated for 48 days for growth and nitrogen and phosphorus uptake.  Results will be used to develop guidelines when implementing vegetated floating islands for wastewater remediation.