Constructed wetland system to treat agricultural runoff

Abstract

This study was carried out to analyze the status of current water quality caused by agricultural runoff from four different pond which located at Institute of Sustainable Agrotechnology (INSAT), Sg. Chucuh, Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP). Then, this experiment was carried out to evaluate the effectiveness of the selected aquatic plants to treat the water quality of agricultural runoff by using lab-scale Free Water Surface (FWS). The plants that involved in study were Eichhornia Crassipes (water hyacinth), Ipomoea Aquatic Forsskal (water spinach) and Centella Asiatica (pennywort). The performance of the system determined by ammonia nitrogen, nitrate, total dissolved solid, dissolved oxygen, turbidity and sediment. Based on the experiment, the water hyacinth and water spinach have the ability to treat the polluted water effectively. The water hyacinth and water spinach have almost the same result throughout finishing the experiment. However, the water spinach has an extra advantage compared to water hyacinth which is it can be commercialized. The pennywort shows a slow reaction in treating the water and not very effective although it has a higher commercial value due to high demand because it can be used in medicine production and many more. As conclusion, the water spinach was the most suitable plants that can be used in constructed wetland system because it has the ability to treat the polluted water and also has a commercial value.