Constructed Wetlands for greywater reuse

The project involves the construction of a green wall for the treatment and reuse of greywater produced by the Cecchi Point building in the municipality of Turin (TO). The intervention is one of the pilots to be carried out as part of the NICE (Innovative and enhanced nature-based solutions for sustainable urban water cycle) project, a research project funded by the European Union under the Horizon 2020 call with grant agreement No.101003765. (https://nice-nbs.eu/).

One of the fundamental principles of the approach followed by the NICE project is to consider wastewater as part of a complete system and to examine not only the treatment and discharge of wastewater, but also the entire water consumption process. To be sustainable, a water management system requires an efficient use of water that avoids the use of hazardous substances, recycles nutrients, treats wastewater cost-effectively and recovers treated water for domestic use or irrigation. Thus, wastewater, instead of being considered as a substance to be disposed of, becomes a water resource. This approach allows the various parts to be designed with the aim of optimising the system as a whole.

At Cecchi Point, greywater from the washbasins is treated through a green wall system designed to provide construction wetland processes. The reclaimed water will subsequently be reused for the irrigation of the urban gardens located in the Cecchi Point courtyard. The implemented solution, consisting of a so-called living wall, covers an area of 6 m². To ensure sanitary safety, a UV disinfection system is installed.

The project involves the treatment of the greywater of the showers and washbasins produced by by Jewet Hall, a dormitory in Beirut, through the use of green walls and green facades, and their reuse for the toilet flush cisterns and irrigation. The intervention is one of the pilots to be implemented within the NAWAMED (Nature Based Solutions for Domestic Water Reuse in Mediterranean Countries) project, a research project funded by the EU ENI CBC MED program. The project aims at implementing the real scale pilot installations for greywater/rainwater treatment and reuse, including living greewalls, which are vegetated vertical systems anchored to building facades, integrating greywater treatment, and providing additional benefits such as greening, improved aesthetics, and energy savings.

The technique that will be used for the treatment of the greywater in GWs derives from the constructed wetlands technology. In particular, vertical submerged subsurface flow systems have been chosen for the following key reasons: limited weight, reduction of evapotranspiration (the project will be implemented in water-scarce arid environments), and a wide choice of plant species. The green walls are divided in the East Living Wall, and the West Living Wall, while the green façades VF system are divided into Green Façade 1, Green Façade 2, Green Façade 3. The currently designed NBS for Jewett Hall is composed of 2 living walls, covering a total surface of 84 m2, and 3 green facades, covering a total surface 105 m2 and are able to treat up to about 2.9 m3/day of greywater, the reusable greywater amounts to about 1050 m3/y.

The project involves the treatment of the greywater of the showers and washbasins of the research center (CERTE) through the use of green walls and their reuse for the toilet flushing and irrigation. The intervention is one of the pilots to be implemented within the NAWAMED (Nature Based Solutions for Domestic Water Reuse in Mediterranean Countries) project, a research project funded by the EU ENI CBC MED program. The project aims at implementing the real scale pilot installations for greywater/rainwater treatment and reuse, including living greewalls, which are vegetated vertical systems anchored to building facades, integrating greywater treatment, and providing additional benefits such as greening, improved aesthetics, and energy savings. The technique that will be used for the treatment of the greywater in GWs derives from the constructed wetlands technology. In particular, vertical submerged subsurface flow systems have been chosen for the following key reasons: limited weight, reduction of evapotranspiration (the project will be implemented in water-scarce arid environments), and a wide choice of plant species. The currently designed NBS for CERTE is composed of 3 living walls, covering a total surface of 70 m2, and are able to treat up to about 2 m3/day of greywater.

The project involves the treatment of the greywater of the showers and washbasins of the university’s dormitory through the use of green walls and their reuse for the toilet flush cisterns and irrigation. The intervention is one of the pilots to be implemented within the NAWAMED (Nature Based Solutions for Domestic Water Reuse in Mediterranean Countries) project, a research project funded by the EU ENI CBC MED program. The project aims at implementing the real scale pilot installations for greywater/rainwater treatment and reuse, including living greewalls, which are vegetated vertical systems anchored to building facades, integrating greywater treatment, and providing additional benefits such as greening, improved aesthetics, and energy savings. The technique that will be used for the treatment of the greywater in GWs derives from the constructed wetlands technology. In particular, vertical subsurface flow systems have been chosen for the following key reasons: reduction of evapotranspiration (the project will be implemented in water-scarce arid environments), and a wide choice of plant species.

The detailed design regards the construction of green facades. The Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) are divided in three different areas, providing a green wall surface of about 218 m2, and treating and recovering a total greywater flow rate equal to about 4.2 m3/d, the reusable greywater amounts to about 1000 m3/y.

The project involved the construction of a green wall for the treatment and reuse of the gray water produced by the Istituto Comprensivo Statale "Valle dell'Anapo" middle school in the municipality of Ferla (SR). The intervention is one of the pilots to be implemented within the NAWAMED (Nature Based Solutions for Domestic Water Reuse in Mediterranean Countries) project, a research project funded by the EU ENI CBC MED program. The treatment of greywater from the school sinks is carried out through a green wall adapted to provide constructed wetland processes, the green wall consists of modules hung on the wall with pots filled with expanded clay, coconut fibre and sand. The treated water is accumulated in an underground deposit and to avoid any hygienic-sanitary problem, a U.V. disinfection chamber was installed; the water is then reused for toilet flushing and irrigation. The living wall covers an area of 30 m2, and treat an average daily hydraulic load of 1.3 m3/d of greywater.

• Pumping station fro wastewater derivation
• AT treatment
• pumping station for VF tertiary treatment loading
• VF constructed wetland divided into three basins, with a net surface (bottom of the basin) of 135 m2 each and a total surface of 405 m2
• Connection to disinfection, using chlorination and treated effluent collection tank