Natural wetlands are essentially biofilters that remove from water pollutants such as heavy metals, and constructed wetlands can be designed to emulate these features. A constructed wetland or wetpark is a new or restored habitat for native and migratory wildlife, for anthropogenic discharge such as wastewater, stormwater runoff, or sewage treatment and for land reclamation after mining, refineries operations, or other ecological disturbances.
Learn More:
Visit the Oregon Garden, a popular destination and resort south of Portland comprises wetlands for tertiary treatment of the water supply for Silverton, Oregon. Research is being continually carried out by SPROUt, or the Sustainable Plant Research and OUTreach Center. In 2011 SPROUt hosted the 8th Conference of the International Phytotechnology Society: Putting Plants to Work Where We Live, Labor, Breathe, and Play.
Constructed wetlands: Subsurface flow constructed wetlands for greywater and domestic wastewater treatment. Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), Sustainable sanitation – ecosan program, Technology Review #2, Update of Feb 15, 2011. This 35-page illustrated publication with a helpful focuses on subsurface flow constructed wetlands with a substrate of coarse sand for treatment of greywater, domestic or municipal wastewater in developing countries and countries in transition.