Seasonal variations of performance and operation in field-scale storing multipond constructed wetlands for nonpoint source pollution mitigation in a plateau lake basin

Storing multipond constructed wetlands, dispersed in the areas of rural lake or river basins, are unique and alternative conventional treatment systems for non-point source pollution. However, the sustainable operation and successful application of these systems remain a challenge. This study aimed to assess the seasonal variations of performance, identify operational factors of nutrients removal and fill the knowledge gap of field-scale storing multipond constructed wetlands application in a plateau lake watershed. Preferable performances for pollutant purification and operation parameters were achieved in different water seasons. Highly related to the performance of wastewater treatment, operational parameters including temperature, mass loading rate, hydraulic loading rate, hydraulic retention time and water depth were analyzed through first-order kinetics model, Spearman's rank correlation and redundancy analysis. Optimized parameters obtained through different analyzing methods revealed that appropriate hydraulic loading rate and mass loading rate would give better purification performances in wet season.