Potential of wetland ecological engineering for surface water and landscape improvement through AIT Eco-campus development | |
| Author | Kamanda, Joel Hindowa |
| Call Number | AIT Thesis no.UWEM-15-01 |
| Subject(s) | Water quality Wetlands Landscape |
| Note | 105 p. : ill. |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Series Statement | Thesis ; no. UWEM-15-01 |
| Abstract | An optimal application of Ecological Engineering to enhance the quality of polluted water bodies in urban /suburban communities may yield outstanding results at minimal cost, while at the same time improving landscape amongst other eco - services. This provide s an entry point in transforming such communities in to Eco - Cities. To ascertain pollution of AIT ponds, two ponds (W - dorm and SV1 - 2) were monitored. Both ponds were being polluted albeit at varying degrees. In order to optimize vegetation coverage for water quality improvement, wetland mesocosms (vegetated basins) of water lilies with varying coverage were employed. Their removal effect was verified with a pilot scale vegetated pond. While the 100% coverage yielded maximum net efficiencies, the 60% coverage had optimal net efficiencies (with removal loads) of 119 % (222.3 6 mg COD m - 2 d - 1 ), 48 % ( 7.6 mg NH 3 - N m - 2 d - 1 ), 83 % (0.5 mg NO 3 - N m - 2 d - 1 ) and 32% (1.6 mg P m - 2 d - 1 ). Values that were not significantly different from those of the 100 % coverage. To ecologically reduce health risk associated with the use of surface waters, a comparative study of E. coli die - off in algae cultures of Selena strum sp. - green algae and Spirulina sp. - cyanobacteria, was conducted in AIT campus. E. coli die - off rate under the two species was monitored for different chlorophyll a ( ≤ 250 μ g/L) concentrations. Die - off rates due to algae correlated strongly with chlorophyll a concentrations and were verified to have resulted from pH and DO elevations in the cultures. For a unit increase in chlorophyll a concentration, die - off rates increased by 0.008 day - 1 for green algae which was significantly higher than that of 0.004 day - 1 for cyanobacteria. This is due to the former’s outstanding photosynthetic capacity to increase DO and pH. To elucidate students’ preference for landscaping, a discrete choice questionnaire was used to interview 150 students in AIT. The students’ utility model was generated and the estimated Willingness to Pay for an ecologically engineered wetland was 80 baht/student while the shared cost of the wetland was 40 baht/student. This indicates that students are benefiting from wetland landscaping |
| Year | 2015 |
| Corresponding Series Added Entry | Asian Institute of Technology. Thesis ; no. UWEM-15-01 |
| Type | Thesis |
| School | School of Engineering and Technology |
| Department | Department of Civil and Infrastucture Engineering (DCIE) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Urban Water Engineering and Management (UWEM) |
| Chairperson(s) | Shipin, Oleg V.;Vossenberg, Jack Van de |
| Examination Committee(s) | Visvanathan, C.;Babel, Mukand Singh |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation;Africa Development Bank |
| Degree | Thesis (M.Eng.) - Asian Institute of Technology - UNESCO-IHE, 2015 |