Using Native Plants to Treat Municipal Wastewater for Small Communities in Saskatchewan

A rural Saskatchewan resort community has contracted with Erin Consulting, Ltd, to offer environmentally friendly solutions to their wastewater treatment and management challenges. To that end, an intern from the University of Regina has been identified to help offer design options using native Prairie plants that can remove nutrients and pathogens from the water. The use of native Prairie plants is preferred so that the treatment system will operate under normal climate conditions (extreme cold and hot, as well as dry) in Saskatchewan. The process is anticipated to include several steps or stages in which different types of plants and microbes are growing and remove different nutrients and waste materials from the water prior to discharge to the environment. The overall project goal is to design and test a new “living” wastewater treatment plant process for Saskatchewan that is chemical‐free and sustainable.

Faculty Supervisor:

Dr. Dena McMartin

Student:

Pedro Pablo Marcony

Partner:

Erin Consulting Ltd.

Discipline:

Resources and environmental management

Sector:

Environmental industry

University:

University of Regina