Constructed Wetland: A Sustainable Approach for Wastewater Treatment

Disposal of wastewater in urban area relegates to sewage treatment plant located at remote places. On the contrary, in rural area wastewater disposed off into rivers and lakes through open drainage without pre-treatment which ultimately causes public health issues in the urban and rural areas. As the volume of wastewater is high and the number and capacity of treatment plant are low, it leads to water pollution and reduces the quality of water for daily use. Further conventional method for the treatment of wastewater is expensive and requires trained personnel for the maintenance and operation. Hence, other alternate easy to build, inexpensive methods for the treatment of wastewater are essential. Similarly, as there is increase in scarcity of freshwater, the benefits of wastewater reuse are equally necessary to reduce the pressure on the use of water from the natural resources. It is in this context, other than conventional method, new emerging constructed wetland technologies using various locally available macrophytes for the treatment of wastewater are receiving greater attention due to their cost-effective and environment sustainable approach. This paper mainly focused on the types of wetland, its use for the treatment of wastewater and its reuse for gardening, irrigational and pond reclamation purpose, so as to reduce the pressure on the use of freshwater from the natural resources. Moreover, for a comprehensive understanding, the paper highlights brief history of constructed wetland, its types, uses and importance for the treatment of various wastewaters by using various macrophytes and model/design to treat different types of wastewater.