This paper presents the key elements that emerged from a 3-year study on 4 campsites. Each of them has its own Vertical-Flow Constructed Wetlands (VFCW) for on-site wastewater treatment. Each year, the pollution discharge peaked in the 5 to 6-week summer period but was zero for a 6-month period. The natural-concentrate wastewater is collected into a short sewer network. Hydraulic load and campground occupancy rate were tightly correlated. The effluent has a characteristically high nitrogen concentration due to the lower greywater-producing activity. These quantitative and qualitative elements were used to define the camper equivalent' as a daily pollutant load of about 100 L water, 90 gCOD, 35 gBOD5, 40 gSS, 11 gKN and 1.4 gPt. During the 5-6 weeks of peak visitor traffic, the full first stage receives an organic load of 200 gCOD.m-2.d-1 and 25 gKN.m-2.d-1, which is 2 to 3.5-fold higher than the loads conventionally applied in VFCW systems in France. Despite these heavy loads, COD removal remains constant (at 91%) over the season. During the summer peak, nitrification drops sharply but KN removal rate holds steady near 60%. This study demonstrates that VFCWs can robustly handle massive load increases. The paper concludes that total system size can be downscaled to 0.75 m²/camper. This design allows to reach minimum yields of 75% KN, provided that the system is built and run to state-of-the-art rules. | Cet article présente les éléments clés issus d'une étude de 3 ans sur 4 campings qui traitent leurs eaux usées de manière individuelle par des Filtres Plantés de Roseaux à écoulement vertical (FPRV) aux dimensionnements différents. La charge hydraulique et le taux d'occupation du camping sont étroitement corrélés. L'émission est nulle 6 mois par an et la pointe estivale dure 5 à 6 semaines. Les eaux usées, collectées par un réseau court sont naturellement concentrées. L'effluent présente notamment une très forte concentration en azote du fait d'une activité ménagère réduite. Ces éléments qualitatifs et quantitatifs permettent de définir l' « équivalent campeur » par une charge de pollution journalière d'environ 100 L d'eau, 90 g de DCO, 35 g de DBO5, 40 g de MES, 11 g de NK et 1,4 g de Pt. Au cours des 5-6 semaines de fréquentation maximale, la totalité du 1er étage reçoit une charge organique d'environ 200 gDCO.m-².j-1 et 25 gNK.m-².j-1, soit 2 à 3,5 fois plus que les charges classiques appliquées en FPRV en France. En dépit de ces fortes charges, l'élimination de la DCO reste constante (91 %) au cours de la saison. Lors du pic de fréquentation estival, la nitrification décroît fortement mais le rendement global se maintient à environ 60 %. La robustesse des FPRV face à une augmentation massive des charges appliquées est démontrée. L'article conclut par un dimensionnement réduit de 0.75 m2/campeur au total. Ce dimensionnement permet d'atteindre un rendement minimum de 75 % du NK, correspondant à la nitrification, sous réserve que les règles de l'art de construction et d'exploitation soient strictement respectées.

This study set out to assess how vertical flow constructed wetlands (vfCW) adapt to different types of tourism-driven variations in influent load, i.e. (i) campsites, closed for six months of the year and featuring a two-month-only window of high-season activity, and (ii) tourist-interest villages either hosting tourists over at least the six months of summer while the permanent population is resident or summer festivals that create intense pollution loads in a short burst of just a few days. The study surveyed 4 campsites and 4 tourist-interest villages that were monitored for several years, generating over 70 performance balances for vfCW that were intentionally scaled down in relation to the conventional French design for experimental trials. The influent wastewater effectively qualifies as domestic sewage, although relatively concentrated, with the campsites presenting particularly high nitrogen concentrations (122 gTKN.L-1). The applied daily loads were also particularly high, with some combinations of load parameters (hydraulic load, organic matter, TKN) leading to 400% overloading. Even under these drastic conditions, quality of effluent remained excellent on the characteristic organic matter parameters, with removal performances always over 85%. However, nitrification performances were poor to good. Analysis of the dataset points to two major design thresholds: For campsites, in order to keep a 73% nitrification rate even at the height of the summer season, the load applied to the 1st stage filter in operation has to be capped at less than 600 gCOD.m-².d-1. For tourist-interest villages, in order to keep an 85% nitrification rate in the summer season, the load applied to the 2nd stage filter in operation has to be capped at less than 22 gTKN.m-².d-1. Here, vfCW were demonstrated to robustly handle a massive increase in loads applied, providing the wetland construction and operation stringently follow best design standards and practices.

[Departement_IRSTEA]Ecotechnologies [TR1_IRSTEA]TED [Axe_IRSTEA]TED-EPURE | International audience | This paper presents the key elements that emerged from a 3-year study on 4 campsites. Each of them has its own Vertical-Flow Constructed Wetlands (VFCW) for on-site wastewater treatment. Each year, the pollution discharge peaked in the 5 to 6-week summer period but was zero for a 6-month period. The natural-concentrate wastewater is collected into a short sewer network. Hydraulic load and campground occupancy rate were tightly correlated. The effluent has a characteristically high nitrogen concentration due to the lower greywater-producing activity. These quantitative and qualitative elements were used to define the camper equivalent' as a daily pollutant load of about 100 L water, 90 gCOD, 35 gBOD5, 40 gSS, 11 gKN and 1.4 gPt. During the 5-6 weeks of peak visitor traffic, the full first stage receives an organic load of 200 gCOD.m-2.d-1 and 25 gKN.m-2.d-1, which is 2 to 3.5-fold higher than the loads conventionally applied in VFCW systems in France. Despite these heavy loads, COD removal remains constant (at 91%) over the season. During the summer peak, nitrification drops sharply but KN removal rate holds steady near 60%. This study demonstrates that VFCWs can robustly handle massive load increases. The paper concludes that total system size can be downscaled to 0.75 m²/camper. This design allows to reach minimum yields of 75% KN, provided that the system is built and run to state-of-the-art rules. | Cet article présente les éléments clés issus d'une étude de 3 ans sur 4 campings qui traitent leurs eaux usées de manière individuelle par des Filtres Plantés de Roseaux à écoulement vertical (FPRV) aux dimensionnements différents. La charge hydraulique et le taux d'occupation du camping sont étroitement corrélés. L'émission est nulle 6 mois par an et la pointe estivale dure 5 à 6 semaines. Les eaux usées, collectées par un réseau court sont naturellement concentrées. L'effluent présente notamment une très forte concentration en azote du fait d'une activité ménagère réduite. Ces éléments qualitatifs et quantitatifs permettent de définir l' « équivalent campeur » par une charge de pollution journalière d'environ 100 L d'eau, 90 g de DCO, 35 g de DBO5, 40 g de MES, 11 g de NK et 1,4 g de Pt. Au cours des 5-6 semaines de fréquentation maximale, la totalité du 1er étage reçoit une charge organique d'environ 200 gDCO.m-².j-1 et 25 gNK.m-².j-1, soit 2 à 3,5 fois plus que les charges classiques appliquées en FPRV en France. En dépit de ces fortes charges, l'élimination de la DCO reste constante (91 %) au cours de la saison. Lors du pic de fréquentation estival, la nitrification décroît fortement mais le rendement global se maintient à environ 60 %. La robustesse des FPRV face à une augmentation massive des charges appliquées est démontrée. L'article conclut par un dimensionnement réduit de 0.75 m2/campeur au total. Ce dimensionnement permet d'atteindre un rendement minimum de 75 % du NK, correspondant à la nitrification, sous réserve que les règles de l'art de construction et d'exploitation soient strictement respectées.

The constraints on sanitation in Mayotte, a small French island with a tropical climate in the straight of Mozambique are strong: The interior landscape is rugged with seep slopes, a dense and very rapidly increasing population lives mostly along the coastline, where space for human activity becomes scarce. Yet, the generalization of access to tap water on a household or community level immediately created a need for sanitation programs. Because of the size of the plots and the nature of the subsoil however, onsite sanitation is often impossible and centralized sewerage systems not affordable in the near future. The most appropriate solutions seem to be decentralized low maintenance treatment systems of a capacity of a few hundred person-equivalent, which can be build using mostly local resources, do not require high technical expertise and have low running costs. In order to meet these challenges, SIEAM, the local syndicate which will operate all sewage treatment equipment on the island, asked for expert back-up from Cemagref and asked SINT to design two pilot plants using constructed wetlands. The first constructed wetland plant consists of an Imhoff tank followed by a sub-surface horizontal flow filter with local filter material; divided in three compartments, each planted with different local plants. The second plant is a local adaptation of the type of vertical flow systems working with raw sewage, like the one SINT designs and constructs in Europe. Because sand for a second stage vertical filter is not found on the island, a design with a single stage filter with recirculation was chosen. Both pilot plants are working very well, but in order to optimize dimensioning and to reduce the required surface area, they will have to be tested under higher loadings. | Les contraintes de l'assainissement à Mayotte, une petite île dont le climat est tropical dans le canal du Mozambique, sont fortes: la topographie est très pentue, une population dense et croissant rapidement vit le long de la côte où les espaces pour les activités humaines sont réduits.

[Departement_IRSTEA]MA [TR1_IRSTEA]TED / EPURE | The constraints on sanitation in Mayotte, a small French island with a tropical climate in the straight of Mozambique are strong: The interior landscape is rugged with seep slopes, a dense and very rapidly increasing population lives mostly along the coastline, where space for human activity becomes scarce. Yet, the generalization of access to tap water on a household or community level immediately created a need for sanitation programs. Because of the size of the plots and the nature of the subsoil however, onsite sanitation is often impossible and centralized sewerage systems not affordable in the near future. The most appropriate solutions seem to be decentralized low maintenance treatment systems of a capacity of a few hundred person-equivalent, which can be build using mostly local resources, do not require high technical expertise and have low running costs. In order to meet these challenges, SIEAM, the local syndicate which will operate all sewage treatment equipment on the island, asked for expert back-up from Cemagref and asked SINT to design two pilot plants using constructed wetlands. The first constructed wetland plant consists of an Imhoff tank followed by a sub-surface horizontal flow filter with local filter material; divided in three compartments, each planted with different local plants. The second plant is a local adaptation of the type of vertical flow systems working with raw sewage, like the one SINT designs and constructs in Europe. Because sand for a second stage vertical filter is not found on the island, a design with a single stage filter with recirculation was chosen. Both pilot plants are working very well, but in order to optimize dimensioning and to reduce the required surface area, they will have to be tested under higher loadings. | Les contraintes de l'assainissement à Mayotte, une petite île dont le climat est tropical dans le canal du Mozambique, sont fortes: la topographie est très pentue, une population dense et croissant rapidement vit le long de la côte où les espaces pour les activités humaines sont réduits.