Subsurface oxygen availability tends to be one of the main rate-limiting factors for removal of carbonaceous and nitrogenous compounds in subsurface flow (SSF) wetlands used for domestic wastewater treatment. This paper reviews the pertinent literature regarding oxygen transfer and consumption in subsurface flow treatment wetlands, and discusses the factors that influence oxygen availability.

We also provide first results from a pilot-scale research facility in Langenreichenbach, Germany (15 individual systems of various designs, both with and without plants). Based on the approach given in Kadlec and Wallace (2009), areal-based oxygen consumption rates for horizontal flow systems were estimated to be between 0.5 and 12.9 g/m²-d; for vertical flow systems between 7.9 and 58.6 g/m²-d; and for intensified systems between 10.9 and 87.5 g/m²-d. In general, as the level of intensification increases, so does subsurface oxygen availability. The use of water or air pumps can result in systems with smaller area requirements (and better treatment performance), but it comes at the cost of increased electricity inputs. As the treatment wetland technology envelope expands, so must methods to compare oxygen consumption rates of traditional and intensified SSF treatment wetland designs.