Treatment of atrazine in nursery irrigation runoff by a constructed wetland.

TitleTreatment of atrazine in nursery irrigation runoff by a constructed wetland.
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2003
AuthorsRunes, HB, Jenkins, JJ, Moore, JA, Bottomley, PJ, Wilson, BD
JournalWater Res
Volume37
Issue3
Pagination539-50
Date Published2003 Feb
ISSN0043-1354
KeywordsAdsorption, Agriculture, Atrazine, Bacteria, Ecosystem, Geologic Sediments, Herbicides, Rain, Water Movements, Water Purification
Abstract

To investigate the treatment capability of a surface flow wetland at a container nursery near Portland, Oregon, atrazine was introduced during simulated runoff events. Treatment efficiency was evaluated as the percent atrazine recovered (as percent of applied) in the water column at the wetland's outlet. Atrazine treatment efficiency at the outlet of the constructed wetland during a 7-d period ranged from 18-24% in 1998 (experiments 1-3) and 16-17% in 1999 (experiments 4 and 5). Changes in total flow, or frequency and intensity of runoff events did not affect treatment. For experiment 6 in 1999, where the amount, frequency, and duration of runoff events exceeded all other experiments, treatment was compromised. For all experiments, deethylatrazine (DEA) and deisopropylatrazine (DIA) accounted for 13-21% of the initial application. Hydroxyatrazine (HA) was rarely detected in the water. Organic carbon adsorption coefficients (Koc) were determined from batch equilibrium sorption isotherms with wetland sediment, and they decreased in the order of HA > DIA > atrazine > DEA. Static water-sediment column experiments indicated that sorption is an important mechanism for atrazine loss from water passing through the constructed wetland. The results of the MPN assay indicated the existence in the wetland of a low-density population of microorganisms with the potential to mineralize atrazine's ethyl side chain.

Alternate JournalWater Res.
PubMed ID12688688