Performance of a recirculating wetland filter designed to remove particulate phosphorus for restoration of Lake Apopka (Florida, USA)

Operation of a 14-km² wetland filter for removal of total phosphorus (TP) from lake water is part of the restoration program for hypereutrophic Lake Apopka, Florida. This system differs from most treatment wetlands because 1) water is recirculated back to the lake, and 2) the goal is removal of particulate phosphorus (P), the dominant form of P in Lake Apopka. The operational plan for the wetland is maximization of the rate rather than the efficiency of P removal. The St. Johns River Water Management District operated a 2-km² pilot-scale wetland to examine the capacity of a wetland system to remove suspended solids and particulate nutrients from Lake Apopka. TP in the inflow from Lake Apopka ranged from about 0.12 to 0.23 mg l^-1, and hydraulic loading rate (HLR) varied from 6.5 to 42 m yr^-1. The performance of the pilot-scale wetland supported earlier predictions. Mass removal efficiencies for TP varied between about 30% and 67%. A first-order, area-based model indicated a rate constant for TP removal of 55 m yr^-1. We compared actual removal of P with model predictions and used modeled performance to examine .optimal operational conditions. Correspondence between observed and modeled outflow TP was not good with constant variable values. Monte Carlo techniques used to introduce realistic stochastic variability improved the fit. The model was used to project a maximal rate of P removal of about 4 g P m^-2 yr^-1 at P loading 10-15 g P m^-2 yr^-1 (HLR 60-90 m yr^-1). Data from the pilot wetland indicated that actual rates of P removal may prove to be higher. Further operation of the wetland at high hydraulic and P loading rates is necessary to verify or modify the application of the model.