Constructed wetlands for treating acid drainage at TVA Facilities: Progress report

Technical Report · Tue Mar 01 04:00:00 EST 1988

OSTI ID:7134873

Tomljanovich, D A; Brodie, G A; Hammer, D A

A comprehensive overview is presented of TVA's use of constructed wetlands to naturally treat water quality problems associated with acid drainage at its fossil plants and the inactive Fabius Coal Mine and Preparation Plant in Jackson County, Alabama. TVA constructed its first wetland in May 1985. As of December 1987, a total of eight constructed wetlands, one enhanced natural wetland receiving acid drainage, and one former chemical treatment pond were being monitored as treatment wetlands. Some measure of success is being achieved at all the wetland systems. However, to achieve compliance quality effluent (total Fe <3.0 mg/L, total Mn <2.0 mg/L, pH 6.0--9.0 s.u., and total suspended solids <32.0 mg/L) interim chemical treatment is being used at COF to treat manganese, and at WCF to treat low pH. At KIF, water is being pumped from the final cell of the wetland to the active ashpond as an interim measure until it is shown to consistently yield compliance quality effluent. Chemical treatment is also being used to augment wetlands treatment at the Fabius Impoundment 2 and Impoundment 4 wetlands. Where chemical treatment is required, reduced chemical costs result from some level of wetlands treatment. Successful wetlands treatment has been demonstrated at three sites, where no chemical treatment is required. In the remaining two newly constructed wetlands, insufficient data exist to assess their treatment capability. Overall average construction cost based on nine wetlands was $1.13/ft/sup 2/ ($49,223/ac). Before converting one chemical treatment pond (Fabius Impoundment 3) to a wetland, TVA was annually spending $12,000 to $15,000 for chemicals and $10,000 for pond maintenance that failed to maintain complying discharges. Complying discharges and an annual wetland maintenance cost of about $1000 make the wetland an attractive and cost-beneficial treatment method. 2 refs., 15 figs., 10 tabs.

• Research Organization: Tennessee Valley Authority, Knoxville (USA). Office of Natural Resources and Economic Development
• OSTI ID: 7134873
• Report Number(s): TVA/ONRED/WRF-88/2; ON: DE88016102
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT
010900* -- Coal
Lignite
&amp; Peat-- Environmental Aspects
ACID MINE DRAINAGE
AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS
COAL MINES
COMPLIANCE
COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS
DOCUMENT TYPES
ECONOMICS
ECOSYSTEMS
ELEMENTS
FOSSIL-FUEL POWER PLANTS
MANAGEMENT
MANGANESE
METALS
MINES
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
PH VALUE
PONDS
POWER PLANTS
PROCESSING
PROGRESS REPORT
REAGENTS
SURFACE WATERS
TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY
TEST FACILITIES
THERMAL POWER PLANTS
TRANSITION ELEMENTS
UNDERGROUND FACILITIES
US ORGANIZATIONS
WASTE DISPOSAL
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTE PROCESSING
WETLANDS