NTMWD: Man-Made Wetlands in N. Texas Help Treat Reclaimed Water

This project enables the North Texas Municipal Water District (NTMWD) to divert an average of 91 million gallons per day (MGD) of effluent dominated water from the East Fork of the Trinity River to be polished in one of the largest constructed wetlands in the country (1,840 acres). After passage through the wetlands, the water is pumped through an 84-inch-diameter pipeline 44 miles north of the project site to Lake Lavon for storage, blending and water supply use.

A multi-year project, work first began on the constructed wetland in 2004 with the design and construction of the first of two nursery wetlands. The initial nursery, 20-acres in size, was used to provide plant stock of selected emergent wetland species for a 200-acre second phase nursery. The 200-acre nursery, completed in early 2006, was used to provide over 1.6 million plants for the full scale wetland, completed in 2009.

The constructed wetland treatment process includes sedimentation basins and the wetland cells:
• Sedimentation basins serve to remove the suspended solids that are in the water diverted from the East Fork of the Trinity River.
• Constructed wetland cells serve to remove numerous constituents in the water through the aquatic plants, bacteria, and physical removal processes.

Video features: Ellen McDonald, Principal, Alan Plummer Associates and Tim Noack, Principal, Sr. Engineer, Alan Plummer Associates (project designer)

Visit www.NTMWD.com or www.wetlandcenter.com to learn more about this innovative project and partnership.

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