Wetland systems48

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IWA Specialist Group on Wetland Systems for Water Pollution Control
May 2016, Newsletter No.48
Specialist Group on
Wetland Systems for Water Pollution Control
Newsletter No.48
May 2016
Edited by: Dr Guenter Langergraber
Institute of Sanitary Engineering
University of Natural Resources and Life
Sciences Vienna (BOKU)
Vienna
Austria
Email: guenter.langergraber@boku.ac.at
SG Officers
Chair: Dr Fabio Masi (masi@iridra.com)
Secretary: Dr Guenter Langergraber
(guenter.langergraber@boku.ac.at)
Regional Coordinators
AFRICA Prof. Jamidu H.Y. Katima (jkatima@udsm.ac.tz)
Dr Akintunde Babatunde (BabatundeA@cardiff.ac.uk)
ASIA (except China): Dr Himanshu Joshi (himanshujoshi58@gmail.com)
CHINA: Dr Zhai Jun (zhaijun99@126.com; zhaijun@cqu.edu.cn)
EUROPE: Dr Florent Chazarenc (Florent.Chazarenc@mines-nantes.fr)
Dr Gabriela Dotro (g.c.dotro@cranfield.ac.uk)
Dr Magdalena Gajewska (mgaj@pg.gda.pl)
Dr Jaime Nivala (jaime.nivala@ufz.de)
Mr Heribert Rustige (rustige@akut-umwelt.de)
Dr Jan Vymazal (vymazal@yahoo.com)
MIDDLE EAST: Dr Tom Headley t.headley@waterandcarbon.com.au
OZEANIA: Dr John Bavor (jbavor@gmail.com)
NORTH AMERICA: Dr Otto Stein (ottos@ce.montana.edu)
LATIN AMERICA: Dr Silvana Cutolo (silvana.cutolo@gmail.com)
Disclaimer: This is not a journal, but a Newsletter issued by the IWA Specialist Group on Wetland Systems for
Water Pollution Control. Statements made in this Newsletter do not necessarily represent the views of the
Specialist Group or those of the IWA. The use of information supplied in the Newsletter is at the sole risk of the
user, as the Specialist Group and the IWA do not accept any responsibility or liability.

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CONTENTS
Editorial
Fabio Masi 3
Recent and upcoming SG activities
Günter Langergraber 4
Call for proposals for the 16th IWA International Conference on Wetland Systems for
Water Pollution Control (ICWS2018) 7
Call for candidates for SG Chair and Secretary 8
Updates on the 15th IWA International Conference on
Wetland Systems for Water Pollution Control, 4-9 September 2016, Gdańsk, Poland 9
Interviewing Jaime Nivala
Frank van Dien 10
Virtual Special Issue of Water Sci Technol from the Shanghai 2014 conference
Short report on the International Conference on "Innovations in Sustainable Water
and Wastewater Treatment Systems (ISWATS)", 21-23 April 2016, Pune, India
Draft of new DWA A-262 guideline on constructed wetlands
Heribert Rustige, Jaime Nivala 18
Middle East Regional Report – Jordan update
Tom Headley 19
From demonstration to implementation: Decentralized wastewater treatment in Jordan
Manfred van Afferden et al. 19
Press Release: A Green Filter to save the Plankenbrug River
Melissa Litnaar Strauss 24
News from IWA Headquarters 26
News from IWA Publishing 27

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EDITORIAL
Dear Colleagues, Young Wetland Systems Professionals, Friends,
I am glad to report that the organisation of the
15th IWA International Conference on Wetland
Systems for Water Pollution Control in Gdansk,
Poland is going on smoothly and efficiently.
More than 210 abstracts have been received and
the Committees have already selected about 140
oral presentations and numerous posters. I am
sure that this event is going to be a great
conference and I wish to the organisers the great
success that everything is promising to reach. The
update on the program is included in the
newsletter.
In the last six months the SG activities have
mainly focused on networking (i.e. trying to promote our SG with the Biocluster and with the
SG on Small Water and Wastewater Systems) and on the setup of the new IWA platform
IWA Connect that should be launched in the next weeks. I firmly invite you all to make use
of IWA Connect and the other SG social media, during this last year I have appreciated a lot
the sharing of news, knowledge, advices, and so on, that took place in these "virtual squares"
where we can be in constant contact.
Five SG members have then been involved in starting-up the Task Group on "Mainstreaming
the Use of Treatment Wetlands". The TG works, besides others on a new version of the IWA
Scientific and Technical Report on Treatment Wetlands. I wish to thank all of them for their
volunteer and so impacting and important work for the common good of our community.
I take the occasion for recalling some important issues that we will have to deal with in the
next 3 months:
1) Selection of the ICWS2018 hosts: we are just publishing in this newsletter the Call for
Proposals
2) Elections of the new SG Chair and Secretary: you will find instructions and the
modalities for applying in this newsletter as well.
I’m also very happy, that our SG is currently involved in the reviewing of the upcoming new
version of the German guidelines for Wetland Systems design (former ATV and then DWA);
our involvement is showing how valuable we are considered at international level as a “group
of specialists” and it’s paying back the last 30 years efforts in a proper way.
With that, please enjoy reading about the recent developments in Wetland Systems in another
issue of the Newsletter.
With best regards,
Fabio Masi
Chair, IWA Wetland Systems for Water Pollution Control Specialist Group

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RECENT AND UPCOMING SG ACTIVITIES
By Günter Langergraber, Secretary of the SG
This part of the newsletter shall inform you about SG activities since our last newsletter was
published and future activities planned.
1) Task Group on "Mainstreaming the Use of Treatment Wetlands"
The TG "Mainstreaming the Use of Treatment Wetlands" started to work in September 2015
with the first meeting during the WETPOL 2015 conference in York. The TG is chaired by
Gabriela Dotro and its members are Guenter Langergraber (co-chair), Jaime Nivala, Jaume
Puigagut and Otto Stein.
The three main tasks of the TG are:
I. Textbook chapter on Wetland Technology
The textbook chapter does not aim to replace any of the main textbooks in the area of
treatment wetlands. It is aimed to be an addition to the Biological Wastewater
Treatment series that is available as eBook online for free at IWA Water Wiki at
http://www.iwawaterwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Articles/DevelopingCountriesTitlesfro
mIWAPublishingFreetoDownload. The series comprises six volumes:
1. Wastewater Characteristics, Treatment and Disposal
2. Basic Principles of Wastewater Treatment
3. Waste Stabilisation Ponds
4. Anaerobic Reactors
5. Activated Sludge and Aerobic Biofilm Reactors
6. Sludge Treatment and Disposal
Target audience of the Textbook chapter on Treatment Wetlands are bachelor students
with basic knowledge on biological wastewater treatment. In this book we focus on
the description of main types of treatment wetlands for domestic wastewater
applications.
We aim to produce a first draft for review by the end of the year 2016.
II. Scientific and Technical Report on Wetland Technology
The STR will not be just an update of the 2000 version of the STR. What we have in
mind is to produce a book that has valuabel infiormation on the design of wetland
systems. The focus should be on master students, the future engineers for
mainstreaming the use of TWs.
The TG members agreed, that we first finalise the work on the textbook chapter as it
will be the reference material for the STR. After the textbook we will start working on
the STR content.
III. Organisation of workshops
Up to now we have achieved that our chair, Fabio Masi, was invited to give a plenary
lecture on wetland technology at the IWA SSWS + ROS conference, 14-16
September 2016, Athens, Greece.
Unfortunately, our workshop proposal on "Treatment Wetlands - State of the Art and
applications in Australia" prepared for and submitted to the IWA World Water
Congress in October in Brisbane, QLD, was not accepted.

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Since the first meeting in York, the members of the TG already had two working meetings,
i.e. from 7-8 December 2015 in Vienna and from 16-18 March 2016 in Lisbon, as well as
several skype meetings to facilitate the activities. Another working meeting is planned for
July 2016 in Leipzig, Germany.
2) IWA Connect
As Fabio mentioned already in the editorial, IWA Water Wiki will be completely removed by
the end of June 2016, and the IWA Connect, a new channel to share information and
documents, shall be launched in the coming weeks.
The Wetland Systems SG related content available on WaterWiki was already moved to IWA
Connect. I would like to thank Fabio for all his efforts to make this happen.
The IWA connect site of the Wetland Systems SG was chosen as one of the model sites on
how IWA thinks IWA Connect should be used … you can have a look at the it soon – check
it out!
3) Planned activities and supported events and activities of the Wetlands SG
The following events and activities are planned by the SG for 2016.
 15th IWA International Conference on Wetland Systems for Water Pollution Control,
4-9 September 2016, Gdańsk, Poland:
http://icws2016.org/
An update on the conference is presented later in the newsletter.
 13th IWA Specialized Conference on Small Water and Wastewater Systems and 5th
IWA Specialized Conference on Resources-Oriented Sanitation, 14-16 September
2016, Athens, Greece:
http://www.swws2016.gr/
Fabio Masi was invited and will give a plenary lecture on wetland technology.
 IWA World Water Congress and Exhibition, 9-13 October 2016, Brisbane, Australia:
http://www.iwa-network.org/event/world-water-congress-exhibition-2016/
A workshop proposal on "Sanitation Safety Planning" that was submitted by Guenter
Langergraber as chair of the Resources-Oriented Sanitation SG was accepted. The
workshop will be supported by our SG.
4) Non-IWA events interesting for the wetland community:
Finally, I would like to draw your attention to a non-IWA wetland event that might be
interesting for you:
 7th Cross Strait Constructed Wetlands Conference,
11-18 May, 2016, Chiayi University, Taiwan.
 10th ISEB (International Society for Environmental
Biotechnology) Conference, 1-3 June 2016,
Barcelona, Spain, organised by Joan García, see
http://www.iseb2016.com/es/

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 10th INTECOL International Wetlands Conference, 19-24 September 2016, Changshu,
China, see http://www.intecol-10iwc.com/EN/Index.aspx
Early bird registration until 31 May 2016.
The INTECOL International Wetlands conference, which held every four years, is
one of the biggest, highly significant international conference in the field of wetland
science and applications. A special workshop on “Sustainable managements of
wetlands applied in pollution control and water resources reuse” exclusively focusing
on constructed wetland will also be held during conference.
 WETPOL 2017, 22-26 August 2017, Big Sky Resort, Montana, USA, organised by
Otto Stein.
Mark your calendars; WETPOL is making its debut in the United States (Big Sky
Resort, Montana, USA) in August 2017. For the first time the International
Symposium on Wetland Pollutant Dynamics and Control (WETPOL) will be held
outside Europe! This is an excellent opportunity for more engineers, scientists and
practitioners from the Americas to join this international consortium and participate in
the exchange of research results and case studies at the intersection of wetland science
and water quality remediation. A full program focused on wastewater treatment
wetlands, urban stormwater wetlands and bio-swales, riparian wetlands, wetland
restoration, wetlands in agricultural settings and wetland biogeochemistry is planned.
There is still opportunity to be part of the program or scientific committees if you
have interest in one of these or related areas. Bookmark our website:
www.wetpol.org/2017, more information will be available soon. Watch for a Call for
Abstracts and program/registration details this summer.
Big Sky Resort is “the Basecamp to Yellowstone.” Easily accessible and nestled in
one of America’s most iconic regions, Big Sky Resort is about one-hour south of
Bozeman, Montana and one hour north of Yellowstone National Park. The scenic
drive from the airport (BZN) takes you through Gallatin Canyon, where the movie “A
River Runs Through It” was filmed and bald eagles and big horn sheep frequent. Salt
Lake City International Airport (SLC) with direct service to several international
locations is only a 5 hour drive from Big Sky Resort.
(text provided by Otto Stein).

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CALL FOR PROPOSALS FOR THE 16TH IWA INTERNATIONAL
CONFERENCE ON WETLAND SYSTEMS FOR WATER POLLUTION
CONTROL (ICWS2018)
Fabio Masi and Günter Langergraber
We kindly ask potential proposers for the 16th IWA International Conference on Wetland
Systems for Water Pollution Control (ICWS2018) to submit their proposals following the
points as described below.
Procedure for submission of proposals for ICWS2018:
1. Submit your proposal for ICWS2018 following the template for proposals latest until
15 July 2016 (sharp deadline). The template is available on the SG WaterWiki site:
"ICWS proposal template", and in IWA Connect
(https://iwaconnect.org/document/download/5739b6e5ee3a277b6ef9dbfe).
2. SG officers will review proposals and may ask for clarifications and/or modifications
if required.
3. Final proposal will be made available on the SG IWA Connect page (to be launched
soon) and on the SG WaterWiki page (until decommissioning of the website in late
June)
4. Presentation and discussion of proposals at SG meeting during ICWS2016 (on
Monday, September 5, 2016, 17:30, Main room).
5. Electronic voting on conference venue for ICWS2018 (Deadline: 15 October 2016).
6. Announcement of the results in the SG Newsletter No.49 end of November 2016.
The call is open to all the continents. South American, African and South Asian countries
would be highly welcome.
Please do not hesitate to contact us at masi@iridra.com and guenter.langergraber@boku.ac.at
if you do have any questions.

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CALL FOR CANDIDATES FOR SG CHAIR AND SECRETARY
Günter Langergraber and Fabio Masi
Based on the SG constitution (see Newsletter #44 from June 2014), the term of the current
SG officers, i.e. chair and secretary, ends this year.
We kindly invite all members of the Wetland Systems SG that are interested to become a
candidate for the chair and/or secretary position of the Wetlands Systems SG for the period
2017-2020.
The tasks of the Wetland Systems SG officers are
 To facilite the activities of the SG in IWA (including clusters, website platform,
dissemination to the other SGs, social media management, etc.).
 To represent the SG in IWA Specialist Group Leader meetings.
 To organise and chair the biannual SG meetings at the ICWS conferences.
 To support organisers of the ICWS conferences.
 To support the activities of the SG's Task Group on "Mainstreaming the Use of
Treatment Wetlands"
Additionally, the secretary is responsible for
 Editing biannually the SG newsletter (the last newsletter in 2016 will be still edited by
the current secretary and will be used for handing over the activities).
Please submit your applications as candidate for a SG officer to
guenter.langergraber@boku.ac.at latest until 15 July 2016. You can either apply for the chair
and/or secretary position as well as a team of two persons for both positions.
The voting will be done electronically in August 2016 prior ICWS2016.
The official hand-over form the current SG officers to the new ones is planned to take place
at the final session of ICWS2016 in Gdansk.

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UPDATES ON THE 15TH IWA INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON
WETLAND SYSTEMS FOR WATER POLLUTION CONTROL
4-9 SEPTEMBER 2016, GDAŃSK, POLAND
Venue of the conference is ECS (European Center of Solidarity)
Updated and latest information: http://icws2016.org/
Statistics:
- number of abstracts received - 219
- number of selected presentations oral/poster – 140/59
Keynote Speakers:
1- Prof. Hanna Obarska-Pempkowiak, Faculty of Civil and Environmental
Engineering, Gdańsk University of Technology
Wastewater treatment needs in Poland: how TWs can contribute?
2- Em.Prof. Brian SHUTES, Middlesex University, UK
Wetland and small vegetated treatment systems. Future directions for research and
application?
3- Prof. Čedo Maksimović, Imperial College London, UK
Innovative planning for multifunctional water bodies in urban areas
4- Mariusz Hermansdorfer, Msc. Eng, Ramboll Studio Dreiseitl GmbH, Germany
Water Sensitive Urban Design - Case Studies and Lessons Learned
5- Prof. Lucyna Nyka, Faculty of Architecture, Gdańsk University of Technology
Restoration and retention of water in cities- case study of Gdańsk
6- Dr Victor Matamoros, Spanish National Research Council Madrid, Spain
The attenuation of contaminants of emerging concern by natural treatment systems
Preliminary Program
Date Description
Saturday, September 3, 2016
+
Sunday, September 4, 2016
HYDRUS Wetland Module Short Course, for registration see
http://icws2016.org/
Sunday, September 4, 2016 Registration & Welcome reception
Monday, September 5, 2016 Opening, Plenary & Parallel Sessions, SG meeting
Tuesday, September 6, 2016 Plenary & Parallel Sessions, Gala dinner
Wednesday, September 7, 2016
Technical trips, either
1- Hybrid TW and sludge treatment reed bed
2- Gdánsk, City of Water
Thursday, September 8, 2016 Wetland Forum / YWP program, Parallel Sessions
Friday, September 9, 2016 Plenary Sessions, Closing ceremony
Post conference tours
September 9-13, 2016
2 options (for registration see http://icws2016.org/):
1- Constructed Wetlands in National Parks, Lublin
2- Biebrza National Park, Wrocen

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1979: Born in Minnesota, USA
2001 – 2007: Part-time
employment at North American
Wetland Engineering,
Minnesota, USA
2002: BSc. in Civil Engineering,
University of Minnesota
2005: MSc. in Environmental
Engineering, University of
Iowa
2008: Moved to Germany
2012: Ph.D. in Bioscience (Aarhus
University), in cooperation
with Helmholtz Centre for
Environmental Research -
UFZ, Germany
2012 – present: Post-doctoral
researcher at UFZ, Germany
INTERVIEWING JAIME NIVALA
by Frank van Dien
ECOFYT, The Netherlands
Jaime, I'm actually excited to get to interview you!
From all people I know in the international world of
wetlands, I know you the longest! And that was
because, all the way back in 2003, you contacted
anyone you had ever heard of in this world, working in
the Constructed Wetland business, for an assignment
called wetland survey (the WERF-project), leading to
the website of wetlandsurvey.org. Nowadays that
website is no longer functional but I think you gave a
boost to the global aspect of our ''hobby" (speaking for
the majority of our readers?) with that project. And
maybe now it's time for even more people to find out a
little more about you. For starters, I would like you to
tell us:
Where in your life did things definitely turn in the
direction that resulted in your role in world of
constructed wetlands?
During my undergraduate studies, back in 2001, I applied
for a grant that funded opportunities for undergraduate
research (mainly assisting MSc and PhD students with
experiments). I was awarded a grant, and ended up being
paired with Todd DeJournett, a PhD student who was
investigating a passive full-scale treatment wetland for
groundwater remediation. I enjoyed the combination of lab
experiments and fieldwork, and found it fascinating that
natural systems could be engineered to solve specific
environmental problems. I applied for, and was granted, an
extension to continue that work and in the meantime had
asked Todd if there were any companies in Minnesota that
worked with constructed wetlands. He said a friend of his
was working at a small start-up company not too far away,
and gave me the contact to North American Wetland Engineering (NAWE). The company,
which was founded by Scott Wallace and Curt Sparks in 1997, was small. They had only a
handful of employees when I first contacted them in 2001 (the office was located in a garage
– albeit a very nicely renovated one!). At the time, there were no job openings, but I
somehow managed to arrange for a visit to their office anyhow. When I arrived, I still tried
to convince them that they could really benefit from having a student intern. Curt finally said
okay, but on the condition that my hourly rate wasn’t more than that of their part-time
secretary at the time. I took this as a win, and the rest is history! Fifteen years later, I’m still
active in the treatment wetland field, and still collaborating with Scott on a regular basis.
What has kept you working on wetland systems?
What I like best about wetland technology is that it is extremely versatile. The technology
can be used to solve any number of water quality problems, just about anywhere in the world.

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Treatment wetland design options are limitless. What keeps me interested in treatment
wetlands from a technical standpoint is that there is need for both applied and fundamental
research – and the connection between the two is extremely interesting. What keeps me
engaged in this field is the people: nice, genuine, interesting and funny people many of whom
have become close friends. The larger wetland community is simply amazing. Our annual
conferences feel more like family reunions than technical gatherings. I talk to former
classmates who went on to specialize in different fields (conventional wastewater treatment,
air pollution, solid waste management, etc.) and they are always amazed when I tell them
about the close-knit group of friends we have in our “wetland family”.
The next question that comes up is: do you see these wetlands as an ultimate solution for
domestic/ municipal waste water? And if so, in general or just occasional, i.e. when no
sewer system is available?
Treatment wetlands are a fantastic technology, but it is simply not realistic to claim that any
technology (wetland or otherwise) is an ultimate solution for municipal wastewater (or any
other waste stream). Consulting engineers are
responsible for taking into account all aspects of a
potential wastewater project (capital costs, O&M,
space availability, energy requirements, life cycle
analysis) before recommending one technology
over another. In some cases, treatment wetlands
will be at the top of the list. In other situations,
they will not. What is currently missing in the
university environmental engineering curricula is
an acknowledgement that treatment wetlands are a
mainstream wastewater treatment technology, right alongside other more conventional
technologies. (The good news is that the IWA Specialist Group Task Force is currently
working to fix this! An open access textbook aimed at bachelor-level university students is
currently underway.)
Can you tell me: what do you do, besides wetlands, what are your other interests?
My free time on the weekends is often spent visiting flea markets – especially in
summertime. It’s a little known fact that the largest flea market in Europe happens once a
month in Leipzig  It’s a lot of fun to walk around and look at the loads (literally,
truckloads!) of vintage stuff. Plus, you never know what you’re going to find. I also enjoy
keeping a small balcony garden with flowers, berries and different kinds of heirloom
tomatoes in summer, and going for long walks in the nearby parks. I also enjoy photography
when I can find the time.
What is the most promising application area for wetland systems, besides
domestic/municipal wastewater?
Application of wetland systems often has to do with funding (if no money is available,
treatment systems will not be installed). From this standpoint, the most probable source of
funding is industry and companies which have (or have created) water-related environmental
problems.
Is there, to your knowledge, a Treatment Wetland that is an example for us all? Or just
one that you can bring to our attention, for some specific reason?
Well, we have this really great aerated wetland in Langenreichenbach… just kidding! (Wait,
I’m not kidding, it’s a great system, but I know everyone expects me to rave about an aerated
wetland system…)
What does this world need most at
the moment?
Peace
What does the world need most at
the moment, concerning water?
Affordable and equitable access to
clean drinking water and sanitation
facilities for everyone.

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More seriously, though, one wetland technology that in my opinion seems to just be gaining
momentum is the French VF wetland – it’s a technology that holds a lot of potential. The
research and development that has been conducted in France over the past 15 years has
shown time and again that the French VF wetland technology is extremely robust and offers a
huge advantage over most wetland systems because pretreatment is integrated into the design
of the first stage wetland cells. This technology has a huge potential outside of France, and
outside of domestic wastewater treatment, which is only now being explored. French VF
systems have recently been installed in outer lying French regions in tropical climates; effort
has also been made to include the French VF design in the new German wetland guidelines,
and French VF systems are also being tested for treating industrial and agro-food industry
effluents. Upcoming projects at UFZ – which I am personally very excited about – will
support the transfer of the French VF technology to arid climates.
What is the most needed area of further research and study for treatment wetlands?
Most needed? That’s a difficult call. One thing I’d like to see is the development of low-cost
renewable energy options that can support the small electrical components (e.g., water pumps
or air pumps) needed for some treatment wetland designs. Along these same lines, if a
wetland system could produce a value-added crop or resource (sorry, Phragmites!), it would
promote the use of the technology in developing countries or countries that are poor in certain
resources. Another important – but difficult to implement idea – is some sort of global
database for treatment wetland performance. I’ve thought a lot about this, based on previous
data collection efforts, and seeing how Bob Kadlec and Scott Wallace synthesized data for
the Treatment Wetlands, Second Edition textbook. There are some decent smaller databases
out there, such as the CWA database, or the (slightly outdated) NADB, and you can extract a
lot of useful information from them. However, with so many different designs, applications,
kinds of wastewater, and climates, these days and – what is perhaps the biggest problem – no
accepted standard on reporting data, the concept of such a global database will probably
never be realized.
How could we get to more cooperation in research? Would you have an answer to that?
Funding for individual projects is becoming increasingly difficult to secure, and I don’t know
that it is going to get any easier in the future. For large research efforts and big projects, this
is problematic. That said, I believe there is a lot of potential for smaller collaboration efforts,
whether it’s small field or lab experiments, or collaboration on joint publications. Smaller
research questions or experiments can easily be developed, investigated, answered and
published if, for example, a few individuals (a mix of scientists and practitioners is nice, but
not necessary) have a common interest and something to contribute (time, technical support,
analytical support, or a small budget for consumables). I’ve participated in a few smaller
research efforts like this in the past few years, and these tiny projects have actually ended up
being extremely productive and worthwhile, from both a scientific standpoint (quick turn-
around for publications!) as well as a personal one (we’ve had a lot of fun!).
One thing that hinders cooperation is when research groups working on similar topics end up
competing rather than collaborating. When ego or self-promotion prevents collaboration,
nobody wins.
My last question is: who would you like to be interviewed next time?
I’d like to see an interview with Kela Weber, who is easily one of the Specialist Group’s
favorite jack-of-all-trades. 

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VIRTUAL SPECIAL ISSUE OF WATER SCI TECHNOL FROM THE
SHANGHAI 2014 CONFERENCE (UPDATED VERSION)
by Günter Langergraber, Secretary of the SG
After the Shanghai 2014 conference, 65 full papers were pre-selected for being reviewed for
publishing in Water Sci Technol. By end of October 2015, a final decision was made for
65 papers: 30 papers have been already accepted whereas 15 papers were rejected. 20 papers
were withdrawn or authors did not want to submit the papers to Water Sci Technol.
From the 30 papers accepted for publication, 29 papers were published in Water Sci Technol
and 1 paper in Water Sci Technol: Water Supply (Table 1).
Table 1: Water Sci Technol - Virtual special issue ICWS2014 Shanghai (final version).
# Paper and Authors Issue Pages
Water Sci Technol
1 Adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system for real-time monitoring of integrated-
constructed wetlands
Mawuli Dzakpasu, Miklas Scholz, Valerie McCarthy, Siobhán Jordan and
Abdulkadir Sani 71.1 22-30
2 Heavy metals in plants in constructed and natural wetlands: concentration,
accumulation and seasonality
J. Vymazal and T. Brezinova 71.2 268-276
3 Effect of sampling duration on the performance evaluation of a stormwater
wetland
Siping Niu, Kisoo Park and Youngchul Kim. 71.3 373-381
4 Characteristics of nitrogen and phosphorus removal by a surface-flow
constructed wetland for polluted river water treatment
Mawuli Dzakpasu, Xiaochang Wang, Yucong Zheng, Yuan Ge, Jiaqing Xiong
and Yaqian Zhao 71.6 904-912
5 Submerged macrophyte Ceratophyllum demersum affects phosphorus
exchange at the sediment–water interface
Yanran Dai, Shuiping Cheng, Wei Liang and Zhenbin Wu 71.6 913-921
6 Vertical-flow constructed wetlands treating domestic wastewater contaminated
by hydrocarbons
R. H. K. Al-Isawi, A. Sani, S. A. A. A. N. Almuktar and M. Scholz 71.6 938-946
7 Comparative research on phosphorus removal by pilot-scale vertical flow
constructed wetlands using steel slag and modified steel slag as substrates
Yupan Yun, Xiaoqin Zhou, Zifu Li, Sayed Mohammad Nazim Uddin and
Xiaofeng Bai 71.7 996-1003
8 Role of vegetation (Typha latifolia) on nutrient removal in a horizontal
subsurface-flow constructed wetland treating UASB reactor–trickling filter
effluent
Jocilene Ferreira da Costa, Weber Luiz Pinto Martins, Martin Seidl and
Marcos von Sperling 71.7 1004-1010
9 Pilot-scale study of vertical flow constructed wetland combined with trickling
filter and ferric chloride coagulation: influence of irregular operational
conditions
B. Kim, M. Gautier, G. Olvera Palma, P. Molle, P. Michel and R. Gourdon 71.7 1088–1096
Table 1: Water Sci Technol - Virtual special issue ICWS2014 Shanghai (final version) [cont'd].
10 Wineries wastewater treatment by constructed wetlands: a review
F. Masi, J. Rochereau, S. Troesch, I. Ruiz and M. Soto 71.8 1113-1127

14
11 Performance of a pilot showcase of different wetland systems in an urban
setting in Singapore
B. S. Quek, Q. H. He and C. H. Sim 71.8 1158-1164
12 French vertical-flow constructed wetlands in mountain areas: how do cold
temperatures impact performances?
S. Prost-Boucle, O. Garcia and P. Molle 71.8 1219-1228
13 Pathogen removal from domestic and swine wastewater by experimental
constructed wetlands
G. Giácoman-Vallejos, C. Ponce-Caballero and P. Champagne 71.8 1263-1270
14 Economic assessment of sludge handling and environmental impact of
sludge treatment in a reed bed system
Steen Nielsen 71.9 1286-1292
15 Treatment performances of French constructed wetlands: results from a
database collected over the last 30 years
A. Morvannou, N. Forquet, S. Michel, S. Troesch and P. Molle 71.9 1333-1339
16 Performance evaluation of wastewater treatment using horizontal subsurface
flow constructed wetlands optimized by micro-aeration and substrate
selection
Fei Zhong, Juan Wu, Yanran Dai, Dongfang Xiang, Shuiping Cheng and
Hongjiu Ji 71.9 1317-1324
17 French vertical-flow constructed wetland design: adaptations for tropical
climates
P. Molle, R. Lombard Latune, C. Riegel, G. Lacombe, D. Esser and L.
Mangeot 71.10 1516-1523
18 An investigation into the effectiveness of sand media amended with biochar
to remove BOD5, suspended solids and coliforms using wetland mesocosms
P. de Rozari, M. Greenway and A. El Hanandeh 71.10 1536-1544
19 Performance of a system with full and pilot-scale sludge drying reed bed
units treating septic tank sludge in Brazil
Luisa Fernanda Calderón-Vallejo, Cynthia Franco Andrade, Elias Sete
Manjate, Carlos Arturo Madera-Parra and Marcos von Sperling 71.12 1751-1759
20 Key issues to consider in using alum sludge as substrate in constructed
wetland
Xiaohong Zhao, Yaqian Zhao, Wenke Wang, Yongzhe Yang, Akintunde
Babatunde, Yuansheng Hu and Lordwin Kumar 71.12 1775-1782
21 Treatment of high organic content wastewater from food-processing industry
with the French vertical flow constructed wetland system
J. Paing, V. Serdobbel, M. Welschbillig, M. Calvez, V. Gagnon and F.
Chazarenc 72.1 70-76
22 The use of palm kernel shell (PKS) as substrate material in vertical-flow
engineered wetlands for septage treatment in Malaysia
Valerie Siaw, Wee Jong and Fu Ee Tang 72.1 84-91
23 Presence and persistence of wastewater pathogen Escherichia coli O157:H7
in hydroponic reactors of treatment wetland species
R. J. VanKempen-Fryling, O. R. Stein and A. K. Camper 72.1 135-140
24 Operating a two-stage microbial fuel cell–constructed wetland for fuller
wastewater treatment and more efficient electricity generation
Liam Doherty and Yaqian Zhao 72.3 421-428
25 Rice cultivation system with circulated irrigation for enhanced nitrogen
removal from treated municipal wastewater: Comparison of systems feeding
irrigation water upward and downward
A. Muramatsu, H. Ito, A. Sasaki, A. Kajihara and T. Watanabe 72.4 579-584
Table 1: Water Sci Technol - Virtual special issue ICWS2014 Shanghai (final version) [cont'd].
26 Floating wetland islands as a method of nitrogen mass reduction: results of a
1-year test
R. Vázquez-Burney, J. Bays, R. Messer, J. Harris 72.5 696-703
27 Vertical flow constructed wetlands subject to load variations: an improved 72.5 817-823

15
design methodology connected to outlet quality objectives
C. Boutin, S. Prost-Boucle
28 Reed bed systems for sludge treatment: case studies in Italy
G. Masciandaro, R. Iannelli, M. Chiarugi, E Peruzzi 72.7 1043-1050
29 An event-based hydrologic simulation model for bioretention systems
A. Roy-Poirier, Y. Filion and P. Champagne 72.9 1524-1533
Water Sci Technol: Water Supply
30 Nitrate reduction in reactive swales at low temperatures: full-size field
system vs. technical scale
D. Wicke, P. Rouault, B. Krause Camilo, C. Pagotto, M. Dechesne and E.
Soyeux 15.3 642-648
Additionally, 44 papers were considered for publishing in Water Practice and Technology.
From the 44 papers, 15 papers have been selected for publication, 10 were withdrawn and
20 were rejected. From the 14 papers accepted for publication, 7 paper have been published
in Water Practice and Technology up to now (Table 2).
Table 2: Water Practice and Technology - Virtual special issue ICWS2014 Shanghai (status
18 May 2016).
# Paper and Authors Issue Pages
1 Recycling of domestic wastewater treated by vertical-flow wetlands
for watering of vegetables
S.A.A.A.N. Almuktar, M. Scholz, R. H. K. Al-Isawi and A. Sani 10.3 445-464
2 Grass filtration in parallel with VFCW technology for community
wastewater treatment through the king's initiative nature-by-nature
process
K. Chunkao; O. Phewnil; T. Pattamapitoon; N. Semvimol; W.
Wararam 10.4 633-643
3 Design and performance evaluation of a highly loaded aerated
treatment wetland managing effluents from a food processing
industry in Denmark
C. A. Arias; D. V. Oirschot; R. Kilian; A. Pascual; P. Carvalho; T.
Lv; Y. Zhang; H. Brix; J. A. Alvarez 10.4 644-651
4 Land characterisation for soil-based constructed wetlands: Adapting
investigation methods to design objectives
A. Petitjean; N. Forquet; J.-M. Choubert; M. Coquery; M. Bouyer;
C. Boutin 10.4 660-668
5 Effect of feed pattern of landfill leachate on water reduction in
constructed wetland in Southeast Asia
Yuka Ogata; Tomonori Ishigaki; Yoshitaka Ebie; Noppharit
Sutthasil; Chart Chiemchaisri; Masato Yamada 10.4 669-673
6 Experiences with hybrid constructed wetland and pond system for
polytypic wastewater treatment
Ying Zhang; Jianqiang Du; Beiyan Xing; Gunther Geller; Heribert
Rustige 10.4 771-776
7 An integrated sewage treatment pond-wetland challenges
conventional process treatment performance
V.C. Personnaz; R.B. McKenzie; I.A.A. Kikkert 11.1 10-25

16
SHORT REPORT ON THE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON
"INNOVATIONS IN SUSTAINABLE WATER AND WASTEWATER
TREATMENT SYSTEMS (ISWATS)"
21-23 APRIL 2016, PUNE, INDIA
by Günter Langergraber, Secretary of the SG
The ISWATS Conference, held in Pune, India, from 21-
23 April 2016 (http://www.iswats.com/) was jointly
organised by four Indian-European research projects
under the lead of the NaWaTech Project.
The Indian partners in these four Indian-European
research projects where funded by the Department of
Science & Technology (DST) of the Government of
India, The European partners by the European
Commission under the Seventh
Framework Programme.
Each of the four projects presented the results achieved in a dedicated 2-hours session.
Scientific papers were presented in parallel sessions. Besides, panel discussion on the
following topics were organised:
 Key issues of selection and implementation of water and wastewater systems
 Future water research and innovation needs: Priorities for joint India-EU action
 Adaptability and replicability of technologies to accelerate the national programs
The conference was supported by three IWA SGs. Besides the Wetlands SG, also the SG
"Resources-Oriented Sanitation" and the SG "Sanitation and Water Management in
Developing Countries" supported ISWATS. The conference attracted more than 200
participants, among those were high-level representatives of both DST and EC.
During the conference, filed visits to two implementation sites of the NaWaTech project in
Pune have been organised. The first sites was the hostel campus of the College of
Engineering Pune (COEP) where the water of about 2000 people living at the campus is
Dr. Pawan K. Labhastwar, CSIR-
NEERI, Indian PI of the NaWaTech
Project and Chair of the Scientific
Committee, addressing the
participants at the Opening
Ceremony.
Cultural show during the ISWATS conference.

17
treated to produce water for toilet flushing and irrigation, respectively. At the second site, the
Indradhanushya Center, water from the nearby open sewer is treated aiming to produce
irrigation water for parks.
Wetland systems installed by the NaWaTech project in Pune at the COEP Hostel Campus
(left) and at the Indradhanushya Center (right).
More details on the sites as well as on the other implementation sites of the NaWaTech
project and the NaWaTech project in general can be found in Issue #25 of the Open-Access
On-line journal Sustainable Sanitation Practice (SSP; ISSN 2308-5797;
http://www.ecosan.at/ssp) published in January 2016. The four projects organising the
conference have been
NaWaTech - www.nawatech.net
Natural Water Systems and Treatment Technologies to cope with Water
Shortages in Urbanized Areas in India. Six implementation sites were
realized to benefit more than 4800 persons in Maharashtra.
SWINGS - www.swingsproject.com
Water resource conservation through Green and Sustainable Technologies
for Municipal Wastewater Treatment i.e. Integration of Enhanced
Anaerobic Digestion and Constructed Wetlands, for nutrient recovery for
irrigation and produce potable water with low cost disinfection methods.
SARASWATI - www.project-saraswati.net
Supporting consolidation, replication and up-scaling of sustainable
wastewater treatment, reclamation and reuse technologies for India.
Further the project emphasizes on sustainability of both EU and non-EU
technologies for solving water challenges in India and to assess the
overall potential of all technologies.
ECO INDIA - www.eco-india.eu
Eco-India is to design and develop innovative cost effective solutions for
community based water- and wastewater treatment systems.
For more information on the projects please visit the respective project websites.

18
DRAFT OF NEW DWA A-262 GUIDELINE ON CONSTRUCTED
WETLANDS
Heribert Rustige1
and Jaime Nivala2
1
AKUT Umweltschutz Ingenieure Burkard und Partner, Biesenthal, Germany, rustige@akut-umwelt.de.
2
Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research (UFZ) Department: Environmental and Biotechnology Center
(UBZ), Permoserstrasse 15, 04318 Leipzig, Germany.
The German guideline DWA A-262 on the "Design, construction and operation of treatment
wetlands, including vegetated soil filters" published in 2006 has been scrutinized over the
past two years. According to German water act, wastewater treatment must always comply
with its latest state of the art. This is defined by rules, which are accepted from the majority
of experts such as defined in DWA A-262. The regular procedure is a broad discussion in
specialist groups and with experts after publication of the drafted "yellow print". The draft
DWA A-262 guideline is now available for review at
http://www.dwa.de/dwa/dwadirekt.nsf/entwurfsportal?openform (in German language only,
Deadline for submitting comments or objections is June 30th, 2016). The draft DWA A-262
guideline is expected to get more responses than most DWA guidelines, mainly since
treatment wetland technology has been developed from the bottom up. Many engineers and
SMEs have found different solutions for ecological and low-cost wastewater treatment
beginning from the 1980s. Any restrictions in technical rules naturally cause protest by those
propagating ways of construction, which are not included in guidance documents. On the
other hand, the proper use of this guideline is an insurance for those selling or operating a
treatment wetland in Germany.
It is the task of the guideline to describe well-functioning, cost-efficient, state-of-the-art
wetland systems, which allow long-term operation with high treatment efficiency. Any
technologies in the guideline must be confirmed by practical experience and positive research
results. If possible, key factors for design and operation should also be addressed in the
guideline in order to prevent costly failures for operators and environment.
Starting with a first conference at Potsdam University of Applied Sciences in January 2014,
the pros and cons of the outdated 2006 guideline were discussed. So far, it can be stated that
the restrictive execution of this outdated guideline had reduced failures, which had cumulated
before 2006 (mostly clogging of multiple layer VF systems). On the other hand, the described
systems in the 2006 guideline turned out to be large and expensive compared to other
technologies.
With this in mind, the DWA A-262 guidelines have been expanded to include for the first
time the classical French VF wetlands and both VF and HF aerated wetlands. Moreover, the
conventional German sand filter system according to the 2006 standard is not compatible for
use with combined sewer systems. The new draft guideline now describes the use of the well-
proven French VF wetlands in Germany for separate and combined sewage. Expertise was
also provided from IRSTEA in Lyon, France and BOKU University in Vienna, Austria.
Overall, the new German guideline is a combined effort of our international specialist group.
The new version of the draft DWA A-262 guideline will be presented at ICWS2016 in
Gdansk in September. The publish date of the new guideline depends on the nature of the
public comments and subsequent revisions. It is anticipated that the finalized guideline will
be published in late 2016.

19
MIDDLE EAST REGIONAL REPORT – JORDAN UPDATE
by Tom Headley, The Water and Carbon Group, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
Jordan is one of the most water scarce countries in the world, with only 100 m3
/year of
renewable water resources available per capita. Although a peaceful and rapidly developing
country, Jordan lacks the oil and gas wealth of many other countries in the Middle East and
bears the increasing burden of massive influxes of refugees due to on-going turmoil in
neighbouring countries. Thus, the water infrastructure of the country are under increasing
stress. Approximately one third of its 6.5 million inhabitants are dependent on on-site
systems for managing their wastewater, the majority of which consist of poorly functioning
cess pits and septic tanks. For the past 8 years, the partners of the SMART program have
been toiling tirelessly to develop technologies to improve the sanitation standards in rural and
peri-urban communities, while concurrently enhancing opportunities for reuse of treated
effluent. Funded by the German Ministry of Education and Research, SMART aims to bring
together various interest-groups and transfer scientific and technical expertise from Germany
to Jordan through a collaborative mix of research, technology transfer, project
implementation, education and capacity development. Constructed wetlands form one of the
key technological pillars of the decentralised wastewater program of SMART. Following is
an overview of some of these activities, prepared by Jaime Nivala and other members of the
SMART project.
FROM DEMONSTRATION TO IMPLEMENTATION:
DECENTRALIZED WASTEWATER TREATMENT IN JORDAN
Manfred van Afferdena
, Jaime Nivalaa
, Thomas Aubrona
, Mi-Yong Leea
, Ruth Goedertb
,
Dion van Oirschotc
, Jaime Cardonab
, Ali Subahd
, Bassim Abbassie
, Nabil Wakilehf
,
Roland A. Müllera
a
Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research (UFZ) Department: Environmental and Biotechnology Center
(UBZ), Permoserstrasse 15, 04318 Leipzig, Germany.
b
BDZ-Training and Demonstration Centre for Decentralized Sewage Treatment, Leipzig, Germany
c
Rietland bvba, Van Aerselaerstraat 70, 2322 Minderhout, Belgium
d
Ministry of Water and Irrigation, Al-Shmeisani, Salem Al-Hindawi St. 45, 11190 Amman,Jordan,
e
Department of Water Resources and Environmental Management, Al-Balqa Applied University, 19117 Al-Salt,
Jordan.
f
NAW Co., PO Box 9933, 11191 Amman, Jordan
Introduction
A new approach for decentralized wastewater management in Jordan has been developed
within the context of the SMART Project (Sustainable water Management in Arid Regions
using innovative Technologies). The work over the past eight years has been centered on
three main topics: technology development, demonstration and optimization; decision support
and economic efficiency, and capacity development.
Demonstration
In 2009, a pilot-scale research and demonstration facility was established in Fuhais, Jordan in
order to showcase various approaches for decentralized wastewater treatment and reuse. The

20
overall objective of the site is to demonstrate sustainable decentralized wastewater treatment
and reuse technologies that are capable of producing water quality that meets the applicable
Jordanian Standards.
The research and demonstration facility hosts seven different decentralized wastewater
treatment technologies, including modified septic tanks, sequencing batch reactors, a
membrane bioreactor, and two constructed wetlands.
Figure 1. Research and Demonstration Facility in Fuhais, Jordan
Decision Support and Economic Efficiency
In parallel to these activities, a GIS-based decision support tool (‘Assessment of Local
Lowest-Cost Wastewater Solutions’ – ALLOWS) has also been developed in order to provide
local ministries with the ability to identify suitable regions for implementation of
decentralized wastewater approaches. ALLOWS generates financial indicators for
comparison of different wastewater treatment and reuse scenarios. Factors such as current
and projected population dynamics, degree of sewer connectivity, groundwater status and
vulnerability, and geographical conditions are considered in the analysis. The scenarios are
accompanied by means of a life cycle cost assessment approach (present value), which can
subsequently be used to assess the feasibility of investment projects and facilitate
negotiations with development banks and investors (van Afferden et al 2015).
Capacity Development
Capacity development also plays a critical role in implementing sustainable decentralized
wastewater management approaches. Within this context, a new capacity development
approach “Water Fun - hands, minds and hearts on WATER FOR LIFE!” was developed
which aims at raising awareness, knowledge, and acceptance of wastewater treatment and the
concept of treated wastewater reuse. The Water Fun Program provides theoretical and
practical training for primary school teachers during a three-day workshop and also includes
a practice day at the research and demonstration facility in Fuhais. The school teachers are
provided with hands-on experience and curriculum that is custom-tailored to the local
cultural, socio-economic, and political context. During the past three years, over 120
teachers and approximately 5,000 students in Palestine and Jordan have received theoretical
and practical training in this program.

21
Figure 2: Assessment of Local Lowest-Cost Wastewater Solutions’ –ALLOWS
Institutional framework is also an important component of developing sustainable
decentralized wastewater management. In conjunction with the activities of the SMART
project, the NICE Project (National Implementation Committee for Effective wastewater
management in Jordan) was established by the Jordanian Ministry of Water and Irrigation in
2012. The NICE Project aims to integrate the relevant institutions (ministries, non-
governmental organizations, universities, and municipalities) into the current political
strategy of Jordan for successful implementation of decentralized wastewater management
strategies. NICE is made up of representatives of eight Jordanian ministries and authorities
namely; the Ministry of Water and Irrigation, the Water Authority of Jordan, the Ministry of
Planning, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Municipal Affairs, and the Ministry of
Environment and the Ministry of Health. The committee established inter-sectorial working
groups that consist of leading staff members at the relevant ministries and authorities and of
local and foreign experts. Their mandate was to produce a framework along the essential
topics for decentralized wastewater management in Jordan. The Framework process was
moderated by the UFZ-office in the Ministry of Water and Irrigation. The Framework was
officially published by MWI in November 2015 (MWI, 2015). Based on the National
Framework for Effective Decentralized Wastewater Management in Jordan, the first
Jordanian Policy on Decentralized Wastewater Management was prepared and approved by
the Jordanian Government in February 2016 (MWI 2016).
Implementation
To date, the SMART project has implemented 10 decentralized wastewater treatment systems
at various scales (single-home, neighbourhood, small community) in Jordan. These include
three treatment wetland systems (a classical horizontal flow for a single family household (10
PE), a horizontal flow aerated wetland for a single family household (35 PE), and a
horizontal flow aerated wetland for a university campus (1600 PE)). In addition to the
treatment wetlands, full-scale modified septic tank, sequencing batch reactor, and membrane
bioreactor technologies have also been constructed.

22
The project in Jordan entered its third and final project phase in 2015 (SMART-MOVE:
Management Of highly Variable water rEsources in semi-arid regions). One component of
the project includes the construction of new pilot-scale facilities at the Fuhais research and
demonstration facility. In mid-2016, a two-stage French VF wetland will be constructed as
well as a horizontal flow aerated wetland (in cooperation with Bauer NIMR LLC, Oman and
NAW Co, Jordan).
Technology Implementation Highlight: Horizontal Flow Aerated Wetland at Princess
Rahmeh College
The Princess Rahmeh College was founded in 1965 as the Jordanian Institute for Social
Work. In 1991 the college was moved from Amman to the Allan area (ca. 40 km from
Amman) in the Balqa' governorate. The College moved to the umbrella of the Balqa’ Applied
University upon its creation in 1997.
Princess Rahmeh College grants a Bachelor Degree in Social Work and a Bachelor Degree of
Special Education. More recently, a Department of Crime and Delinquency was also
established at the college. As one of the first colleges based outside Amman, Princess
Rahmeh College has a long tradition of serving the local communities and other rural regions
of Jordan.
Before implementing the SMART II pilot project, the wastewater of Princess Rahmeh
College was not managed adequately. This created potential risks for the 1,600 students,
faculty, and administrative personnel (approximately 500 PE). The wastewater was collected
in six septic tanks and cesspools distributed throughout the campus (Figure 3, red dots on the
aerial image). The tanks were old and not well maintained.
Figure 3: Princess Rahmeh College (left) and aerial view of the campus (right). The red dots
show the location of previous septic tanks and/or cesspits.
The wastewater composition at Princess Rahmeh College is quite different from normal
domestic wastewater, due to its high organic and nitrogen (especially ammonium) loads.
Such high strength wastewater results from low water consumption and very little grey water
production (4 to 6 L/person per day: no showers, no cafeteria, etc.). The wastewater flow
pattern for the college is abnormal due to very high fluctuations caused by site occupancy
during business hours on working days, resulting in a near-zero water consumption during
nights, weekends and holidays.
A horizontal flow aerated wetland with a design flow of 9 m3
/d was chosen to treat the
wastewater generated by the campus. An aerated design was selected due to the high
ammonium concentration in the wastewater ( > 500 mg/L) and the limited land availability
onsite. A recirculation tank was included to enable operational flexibility if needed, as well
as to increase nitrogen removal. Due to land constraints, the influent header to each cell is
located along the centerline of the wetland. Wastewater flows from the center of the cell, and

23
towards the effluent collection pipes installed along the sides of the beds. In order to promote
mixing and nitrification near the inlet, tapered aeration was chosen (Figure 4).
Figure 4: Influent risers and the aeration system (left) and the construction crew on one of
the finished cells (right).
The treated water is intended to be used for irrigating the campus landscape. The wetland
system has the capacity to treat additional wastewater from a nearby research campus which
is currently under construction. The treatment system was commissioned in mid-2014
(Figure 5).
Figure 5: Princess Rahmeh College treatment system (left) and opening ceremony (right).
The Princess Rahmeh College treatment system is intended to showcase decentralized
wastewater treatment and reuse in rural areas of Jordan. Within the activities of the SMART-
MOVE project (2015 – 2018), the system will be monitored for treatment performance
(results are forthcoming).

24
PRESS RELEASE:
A GREEN FILTER TO SAVE THE PLANKENBRUG RIVER
Melissa Litnaar Strauss
Department Water and Sanitation, Regional Office
Western Cape, Private Bag X16, Sanlamhof 7532,
South Africa, Lintnaar-StraussM@dws.gov.za
The Green Filter is an outcome of collaborative efforts around addressing the serious
pollution problems of the Plankenbrug River. On the 16th
of March an inauguration event will
take place in George Blake Road, Plankenbrug from 09h30, and anyone who shares a vision
of a green economy are urged to attend.
The Plankenbrug River receives greywater, polluted stormwater and effluent overflow from
Kayamandi and Enkanini Informal Settlement of Stellenbosch. The recently formed
Stellenbosch River Collaborative was looking to improve the water quality in the town’s
rivers, and through funding raised by Wildlands is supporting the piloting of an Eco-Machine
technology to divert and treat water from the Plankenbrug River.
In the Stellenbosch Municipal District, Biomimicry South Africa partnered with John Todd
Ecological Design (JTED), Informal South, Greenhouse and Maluti GSM worked as a team
in developing innovative ecological technologies to treat the highly concentrated greywater
that flows out of the Langrug Informal settlement in Franschhoek. The resulting designs
include source control, local and regional treatment systems based on Biomimetic and
Ecological design principles. The downstream (regional) treatment system is based on the
trademark EcoMachine concept developed by John Todd Ecological Design. This design,
together with all other components has been developed through a co-design process with the
community, government, and the project team.
A second design has been developed in Partnership with JTED, Biomimicry SA and Isidima
Design and Development to pilot the EcoMachine Technology as a means to treat the
Plankenbrug River in Stellenbosch. This river is heavily polluted from urban run-off arising
from Enkanini Informal Settlement, Kayamandi, and the adjacent industrial areas.
Residents of informal settlements do not usually have
running water or formal plumbing in their homes.
Community taps are located at various stations
throughout the informal settlements and residents fill up
buckets of water and carry them back to their homes for
drinking, cooking and washing. After use, this water
may contain detergents, personal care products, food
solids and human waste. Because this water has to be
carried to the home, people are incredibly efficient with their water use, leading to a highly
concentrated greywater which is more appropriately classified as wastewater. This
wastewater is then discarded outside the home, where in the absence of a formal sewerage
network, the wastewater combines with the stormwater drainage and discharges, untreated
into the river.

25
The wastewater described above discharges into the river systems,
namely the Berg River and Eerste River which are required to irrigate
orchards and vineyards. The exportation of fruit and fruit products such
as wine is an important aspect of the economy. Bacterial counts of the
river water that do not meet regulatory standards have serious negative
implications for the export of agricultural products. This economic
factor, in combination with a growing awareness of the overall declining
health of the rivers from eutrophication and contaminants, has
galvanized the Western Cape region, to seek solutions for their water
crisis. Through the Biomimicry-inspired Wastewater treatment systems
described above we have the opportunity to offer a sustainable and
ecological treatment solution that will support the health of the river and
also bring forth a new era of healthy, life-giving infrastructure to
informal communities throughout South Africa and beyond.
The inauguration of the Green Filter is aptly taking place during National Water Week. ‘The
National Water Week is an awareness week campaign by the Department of Water and
Sanitation. It serves as a powerful campaign mechanism re-iterating the value of water, the
need for sustainable management of this scarce resource and the role water plays in
eradicating poverty and under-development in South Africa.’ (www.gov.za)
The honorable Mayor Conrad Sidego will be in attendance at the inauguration of the Green
Filter – which bears testament to how important this project is to the Stellenbosch
Municipality.
“This approach is ground breaking and could, if piloted successfully and monitored carefully
to ensure success, revolutionize the wastewater treatment facilities in Langrug and similar
areas of the Western Cape (and the rest of South Africa and Africa),” said Jonny Harris of
Isidima. “What is most relevant is that these systems not only solve ecological challenges, but
provide significant opportunities for job creation, therefore addressing the principles of the
Green Economy.”
Wildlands is the appointed agent of the Stellenbosch River Stewardship Action for the
Plankenbrug River. “We are also actively involved in the Simonsberg Conservancy, the
greater catchment area of this river basin, and the Eerste River as part of the Stewardship
program,” said Andrew Whitley, Deputy Director of the Greening your Future initiative at
Wildlands. “As such we will continue our work of the last 2 years to assist with pollution,
erosion control, alien plant clearing and restoration of the riparian zone – with trees grown by
our Tree-preneurs* in Stellenbosch.” This project is funded by the Department of
Environmental Affairs’ Natural Resource Management Land -User Incentives II Programme.
“Wildlands would like to highlight that none of this groundbreaking work would have been
possible without the support of its partners,” said Whitley. “Thank you – Global Nature Fund
(GNF), the Stellenbosch Municipality, the Innovation City of SA, Isidima Design &
Development, John Todd Ecological Design and Biomimicry SA, Sika, Karcher and the
Stellenbosch River Collaborative.”

26
NEWS FROM IWA HEADQUARTERS
Preliminary Programme Now Available for the IWA World Water Congress 2016, Brisbane
The IWA World Water Congress & Exhibition is the global event for water professionals. It
offers new insights into how pioneering science, technological innovation and leading
practices shape the major transformation in water management that is underway. It draws
over 5,500 of the top water, environment and related professionals from more than 100
countries from across the water sector, including thought leaders from within and beyond the
water sector.
Early Bird Registration Deadline: 1 July 2016
If you become an IWA member while registering for the Congress you will have a greater
discount in delegate registration and when booking exhibition space. Take advantage of the
additional benefits of membership including The Source Magazine, exclusive online content
and further discounts on IWA publications.
Visit the website for more detailed information: www.worldwatercongress.org.

27
NEWS FROM IWA PUBLISHING
Selected books
Flood Risk: The Holistic Perspective
Zoran Vojinovic
ISBN: 9781780405322
March 2015 • 296 pages • Hardback
IWA Members price: £ 74.00 / US$ 133.00 / € 100.00
http://www.iwapublishing.com/books/9781780405322/flood-risk-holistic-perspective
Over the last seventy years, flooding has increased faster than any other
type of disaster. Whilst our technological capabilities for dealing with floods
have advanced rapidly and global economic growth has doubled, floods
are ever more disastrous. Have our technological developments advanced
independently from social and wider ecological needs? Flood Risk: The
Holistic Perspective argues that this paradoxical situation results from the
narrow and fragmented perception of reality of our academic disciplines
and government agencies. It suggests that we must broaden our view and
learn how the natural or social phenomena can provoke a response in a social group, which can
trigger the technical developments, and so on, in a network of interactions and relationships through
coevolving cycles.
Filtration Materials for Groundwater: A Guide to Good Practice
Ivan Kozyatnyk
ISBN: 9781780406992
June 2016 • 144 pages • Paperback
http://www.iwapublishing.com/books/9781780406992/filtration-materials-
groundwater-guide-good-practice
Filtration Materials for Groundwater: A Guide to Good Practice presents the
up-to-date technology of purification of polluted ground water, its treatment
for industrial and human needs and the remediation of polluted sites.
The book examines:
 Types of pollutants in ground water including the main inorganic
and organic pollutants and their behaviour.
 Filtration materials for water treatment and principles of their
choice. How to choose suitable filtration materials according to
targeted compounds and estimate its efficiency.
 Technologies for ground water treatment.
 Cost and risks estimation of treatment facilities. Lifetime, risks and cost estimation of
technology.
 Examples of modern ongoing facilities for ground water treatment
and polluted sites remediation.
Natural Water Treatment Systems for Safe and Sustainable Water
Supply in the Indian Context: Saph Pani
Thomas Wintgens, Anders Nattorp, Lakshmanan Elango & Shyam R. Asolekar
ISBN: 9781780408385
July 2016 • 342 pages • Paperback
http://www.iwapublishing.com/books/9781780408385/natural-water-treatment-
systems-safe-and-sustainable-water-supply-indian-context

28
The book aims to study and improve natural water treatment systems, such as River Bank Filtration
(RBF), Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR), and wetlands in India, building local and European
expertise in this field. The project aims to enhance water resources and water supply, particularly in
water stressed urban and peri urban areas in different parts of the Indian sub- continent. This project
is co-funded by the European Union under the Seventh Framework (FP7) scheme of small or medium
scale focused research projects for specific cooperation actions (SICA) dedicated to international
cooperation partner countries.
Environmental Conservation, Clean Water, Air & Soil (CleanWAS):
International Conference Proceedings 26 -28 August, 2016, China
Muhammad Aqeel Ashraf & Wan Syaidatul Aqma
ISBN: 9781780408156
September 2016 • 300 pages • Paperback
http://www.iwapublishing.com/books/9781780408156/environmental-
conservation-clean-water-air-soil-cleanwas-international
The aim of CleanWAS 2016, Beijing, China is to provide productive
opportunities for academics and practitioners from interdisciplinary
fields of Environmental Sciences to meet, share and take away
expertise and ideas in related disciplines. CleanWAS 2016 offers
interdisciplinary themes of quality R&D topical developments from
potential contributors and experts and presents new techniques and
perspectives that contribute to a clean environment.
Hydrologic Remote Sensing: Capacity Building for Sustainability
and Resilience
Yang Hong, Yu Zhang & Sadiq Lbraham Khan
ISBN: 9781780408101
November 2016 • 496 pages • Hardback
http://www.iwapublishing.com/books/9781780408101/hydrologic-remote-
sensing-capacity-building-sustainability-and-resilience
Environmental remote sensing plays a critical role in observing key
hydrological components such as precipitation, soil moisture,
evapotranspiration and total water storage on a global scale. As water
security is one of the most critical issues in the world, satellite remote
sensing techniques are of particular importance for emerging regions
which have inadequate in-situ gauge observations. This book reviews
multiple remote sensing observations, the application of remote
sensing in hydrological modeling, data assimilation and hydrological
capacity building in emerging regions.
Selected journal papers
An investigation into the relationship between water quality volume (design storage volume)
and stormwater wetland performance
Siping Niu, Kisoo Park, Jing Cheng, Youngchul Kim
Water Science and Technology Mar 2016, 73 (6) 1483-1491; DOI: 10.2166/wst.2015.621
http://wst.iwaponline.com/content/73/6/1483
Performance of hybrid subsurface constructed wetland system for piggery wastewater
treatment
X. Zhang, T. Inoue, K. Kato, J. Harada, H. Izumoto, D. Wu, H. Sakuragi, H. Ietsugu, Y. Sugawara
Water Science and Technology Jan 2016, 73 (1) 13-20; DOI: 10.2166/wst.2015.457

29
The anaerobic baffled reactor (ABR) treating communal wastewater under mesophilic
conditions: a review
N. Reynaud, C. A. Buckley
Water Science and Technology Feb 2016, 73 (3) 463-478; DOI: 10.2166/wst.2015.539
Microbial density and diversity in constructed wetland systems and the relation to pollutant
removal efficiency
Yang Zhang, Pedro N. Carvalho, Tao Lv, Carlos Arias, Hans Brix, Zhanghe Chen
Water Science and Technology Feb 2016, 73 (3) 679-686; DOI: 10.2166/wst.2015.542
For more information on IWA Publishing products or to buy online visit
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