Wetlands Application to Nonpoint Source Pollution 1

A. L. Kenimer, M. J. McFarland, F. L. Mitchell, B. J. Lesikar, J. L. Lasswell 2

Abstract

A multidisciplinary constructed wetlands research facility, the Stephenville Wetlands for Agricultural Management Project (SWAMP), was developed in Stephenville, Texas. The SWAMP facility consists of 6 field-scale wetland cells (30 ft by 100 ft) and 12 bench-scale wetland cells (3 ft by 10 ft). Plans are underway to implement 3 on-stream wetland ponds, each having a surface area of approximately 3 acres. The field-scale and on-stream wetlands receive water from a 1723-acre watershed that contains a 450-head dairy, 500 acres of row crop, and a cheese plant that land discharges wastewater. One goal of the research is to evaluate the water quality function provided by constructed wetlands under various hydrologic and constituent loadings. Additional research on wetland sediments, microbial communities, plants, and aquatic macroinvertebrates and small vertebrates is in development.

  1. This project was supported by the Texas Water Resources Institute (Grant No. 14-08-0001- G2048 ), the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station, and the Texas A&M University Department of Agricultural Engineering.
  2. A. L. Kenimer, Assistant Professor, Department of Agricultural Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas; M. J. McFarland, Resident Director, F. L. Mitchell, Assistant Professor, Texas Agricultural Experiment Station, Stephenville Agricultural Research and Extension Center, Stephenville, Texas; B. J. Lesikar, Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist, Department of Agricultural Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas; J. L. Lasswell, Research Associate, Texas Agricultural Experiment Station, Stephenville Agricultural Research and Extension Center, Stephenville, Texas.

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