Preliminary System Dynamics Model of a Constructed Wetland for the Mitigation ofMetals in USAF Storm Water

摘要

This thesis determines the potential removal and corresponding accumulation oftrace metals from Air Force storm water in a constructed wetland through the use of a System Dynamics model. The goal is to determine whether constructed wetlands used as storm water best management practices provide efficient metal removal while creating only benign accumulations of such pollutants. Its purpose is to allow Base Civil Engineers and Environmental Managers a better tool to assess the long-term effects of a constructed wetland used as a storm water mitigation technique. The research is limited to the assessment of typical metal concentrations found in Air Force storm water and a hypothetical constructed wetland system. The thesis uses reviews of present literature to examine the sediment and metal removal processes found in constructed wetlands as well as the hydrologic and biologic functions which affect these processes. These processes are mathematically described and attached to five different sectors which together simulate a constructed wetland as a whole. Constant storm water flows and concentrations typical of Air Force runoff are used to evaluate the metal mitigation potential of such best management practices.