The Engineered Wetland System ( Epa )

As decades continued to pass by the wetlands change. "People have begun to realize that wetlands are valuable and productive ecosystems that fulfill an essential function for both humans and wildlife. Due to their unique characteristics, wetlands can support a wide diversity of plants, mammals, reptiles, birds and fish. They also control floodwaters and protect us from storms and hurricanes. Wetlands also improve water quality by filtering, cleaning and storing water. Lastly, many people rely on wetlands for their livelihood, as they are important centers for hunting, fishing and recreation." Referring to this from "Wetlands and Habitat Loss", we now see how wetlands are valuable and helpful to the ecosystem. The wetlands are known for our water source. Many people depend on the Everglades for a water source. We also use the Everglades for activities. These activities include fishing, recreation, and

Wetlands provide fish and wildlife habitat. It supplies food water, along with areas that can be used for nesting or resting. Wetlands also act as a aquifer recharge and discharge area. They are able to recharge groundwater or excess groundwater is able to discharge into the wetland. Wetlands act as flood storage when rainfall and snowmelt leave an excess of water around and no place to go.

The fence must be at least 6 inches off the ground to allow natural drainage flow, prevent the blocking or damming of surface water and to allow the passage of small animals.

Silver Creek Wetland Complex is a rare coastal wetland found along the eastern side of the Nottawasaga Bay Shoreline. It falls within the town boundary of the Town of Collingwood, which was formally a part of the Town of Blue Mountains. Because the area is a part of the greater Silver Creek Watershed, the marshy land is classified as a Schedule B Category 1 land under Environmental Protection as per the Official Plan of the Town of Collingwood. Blue Mountain Trust Watershed Practice monitors the watershed and the significant wetland is protected and maintained by Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority. The 2700 Ha watershed flows through the “Lake of Clouds” by Castle Glen, down the Niagara Escarpment, where the 160 Ha complex at the

Government agencies carefully monitor water quality and its effect on wetlands (Reference: Environment Protection Agency Wetland Report EPA 832-R-93-005). Of particular concern is the concentration of nitrogen in water draining from fertilized lands. Too much nitrogen can kill fish and wildlife. Twenty-eight samples of water were taken at random from a lake. The nitrogen concentration (milligrams of nitrogen per liter of water) was determined for each sample. The variable in this information is nitrogen concentration (mg nitrogen/l water).

Based on research completed by University of Minnesota soil scientists, the state mandates that every wetland should be protected by a 50-foot buffer zone. The City of Lilliput, a rural town located 30 miles north of St. Cloud, Minnesota, increased the buffer zone to150 feet in1990 within their municipality. The rationale behind Lilliput’s increase was because the town is zoned for predominantly rural uses, i.e. farming and cattle ranching. Due to the animal wasted and farmers’ use of pesticides on their crops, the Town Council felt that increasing the buffer around surrounding wetlands would better protect it from these sources of contamination than would the state minimum of 50

Ducks Unlimited tries to revert these watersheds back to their natural levels by draining the wetlands that have extremely high levels of contaminants in the water. They then clean the soil in the habitat and find a way to decrease the extra contaminates from entering the watershed. Next they will pump healthy water back into the wetlands and install buffer strips that act like a filter that will catch the extra nutrients and silt.

Recently, the heap of pollution caused a massive drainage in the Everglades’ water quality. Tramontana and Johnson (2003) reported that “much of Florida’s early development was based upon draining and removing excess water from wetlands… and it was thought if drained, the land could be put to better use” (Human Development section, para. 2). Pollution destroys the cleanliness of the wetland leading to a decrease in restoration. Millions amount of cash produced to repair water quality leads to the consequences of continuous flow of freshwater.

Wetlands improve water quality by helping with nearby flood control. The bottomland hardwoods areas contain large amount of nutrient rich soil which is capable of soaking up excess water from floods or runoff. These types of wetlands also contain marshes or swamps where the water is gathered to create a new environment for other

Human activities such as the use of fertilizers in yard soil contribute to the accumulation of nutrients. When using fertilizers, the ground can only absorb so much. The use of excess fertilizers on crops allows for nitrogen to vaporize in the atmosphere through a process called volatilization (Olascoaga, 2010). Crop fertilizer also leaches nitrogen into groundwater, which eventually ends up in the ocean. When the ground is at its maximum absorbance, high concentration levels are obtained and carried through the waste system into rivers. Another factor is sewage from the increasing human population. Septic tanks are widely used unless a household is connected to wastewater treatment plants. Septic tanks purify waste by leaching the waste through soil. Storm water runoff is another source of nutrient for algal blooms. Rainfall picks up nutrients from yards and flushes these nutrients into

At this moment, Louisiana is losing football fields worth of wetlands every hour all due to giant oil and gas companies. The oil and gas industry have been bidding for control over Louisiana’s wetlands so that they can engage in offshore exploration in the Gulf of Mexico. The wetlands were ground zero for where drilling started in Louisiana. These companies carved 10 000 miles of canals in search of oil and gas causing salt water to flow into fresh water marshes. The damaging effects are the deterioration of wetlands, coastal erosion and lack of fishing all due to industry activity. What’s even worse is that these marshes serve as a natural barrier from hurricanes, which Louisiana is susceptible to. The wetlands are the first line of defense

Although the amount of pollutants from a single town or construction site may seem insignificant, the combined concentrations of contaminants threaten our lakes, streams and wetlands. When things such as: human and animal waste, decaying plants and animals, discarded litter, or food waste enter surface waters, either dissolved or suspended in stormwater runoff, they can deplete the supply of dissolved oxygen in the water. When dissolved oxygen is reduced below a certain critical level, it can impair or kill aquatic plants and animals (CNYRPDB, 2011).

Bioremediators need to be able to grow in order to remediate the soil of pollutants. The purpose of this research is to determine whether the presence of Stropharia rugoso-annulata in the soil will support and accelerate the growth of ryegrass in a mutualistic symbiotic relationship. If the growth of the ryegrass is accelerated and supported, the combination of the two bioremediators could potentially accelerate the degradation of PAHs in the soil. Techniques such as soil washing, soil flushing, vitrification, etc., exist to remediate contaminated soil. Although, these techniques are effective, they also disturb the natural environment to some degree. Bioremediation is often accomplished in situ resulting in minimal environmental disturbance. This study is being performed because healthy soil is a limited resource that needs to be preserved and replenished. The state of soil can impact the health of humans, animals, and ecosystems, therefore, it’s important to be able to monitor and control the pollutants in

Eutrophication refers to the effects and involvement of the varied nutrients in aquatic systems. It is defined as the enrichment of water by nutrients, primarily nitrogen and phosphorus, which causes an increase in the rate of supply of organic matter to an ecosystem. This increase in organic matter hastens and accelerates the growth of algae and other forms of plant life. Most of these algae and plant life produces detrimental damage and disturbance to the ecosystem present in the water and the overall water quality (Andersen, Schlüter, Ærtebjerg, 2006). The process of eutrophication commonly happens over a long period of time, but human activities have accelerated the rate and degree of eutrophication of rivers and lakes which causes an excess nitrogen and phosphorus in the water quality (Chislock, Doster, Zitomer, & Wilson, 2013).

I decided to test the ecological status of the wetland by gathering samples from the wetland and testing it for various aspects in the water and the plants that are found within the area.