DEVELOPING A WATER BUDGET FOR A CONSTRUCTED STORMWATER WETLAND

摘要

A thorough understanding of the hydrology of a constructed stormwater wetland (CSW)is essential to develop a water budget; that is a comprehensive view of all inputs andoutputs in the system. Two of the principal functions of a CSW are to 1) reduce peakflows and 2) improve water quality. The latter is achieved through biological, chemical,and physical processes that are ultimately governed by the hydraulics and hydrology ofthe system. As these built systems populate the watershed management landscape, it isnecessary to account for all flows that pass through the CSW to ensure that it is providinga benefit and does not have any deleterious effects on the watershed. One of the mostsignificant and least understood aspects of a CSW is the groundwater-surface waterexchange. This exchange is difficult to quantify, but is deserving of considerationbecause of the potential impact this exchange has on groundwater and surface waterquantity and quality in a CSW system. Therefore, the goals of this study are to 1) usehydraulic and hydrologic computer models to create a water budget of the CSW, with afocus on quantifying groundwater-surface water fluxes, and 2) discuss the implications ofhow hydraulic and hydrologic processes affect the water quality within a CSW.