Role of wetlands in urban sustainability of AIT campus and the environs : towards an eco-city | |
| Author | Dawd, Issah |
| Call Number | AIT Thesis no.ET-SUD-14-02 |
| Subject(s) | Sustainable urban development Wetlands--Environmental aspects |
| Note | A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Environmental Engineering and Management at the Asian Institute of Technology with specialization in Environmental Technology for Sustainable Development and degree of Master of Science at the UNESCO - IHE |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Abstract | In spite of well known urban sustainability practices in Asia and around the world, evaluation of their contribution to the urban environment and their further development are yet to be comprehensively undertaken. Against this backdrop, this research examines the role of wetlands on AIT campus and its environs with a particular reference to the Eco-city concept. The research was conducted in three study sites, namely: W-dorm pond, AIT peripheral and TU-dorm canals with a focus on functions of wastewater purification and aquacultural production. The work also took into consideration inventory of wetlands and based on this, proposed eco-city guidelines for AIT campus. Total wetland cover of AIT campus was estimated to be 100,102.00 m2. Out of 36 canals/ponds, only 17 were found to have macrophytes in them with an estimated surface coverage of 15%. Four different types of wetlands were found: wetlands with floating-leaved macrophytes, wetland with emergent macrophytes, wetlands without macrophytes, and wetlands with different types of macrophytes. Investigations of wastewater mitigation at W-dorm pond showed removal efficiencies as BOD 56.3%, COD 46.8%, TKN 86.9%, TP 73.4%, nitrate 70.7% and nitrite 66.7%. Meanwhile, the contributions of water spinach Ipomoea aquatica and water hyacinth Eichhornia crassipes in nutrient removal from the pond were minimal. TN and TP absorption by Ipomoea aquatica were 10.9% and 26.08%, whilst Eichhornia crassipes managed to take up only 8.2 % and 17.4 % for TN and TP, respectively. On average, the growth rates of the aquatic plants in AIT wastewater were found to be 60.4 g/m2/day and 19.5 g/m2/day for Eichhornia crassipes and Ipomoea aquatica respectively. For TU-dorm canal, the analysis showed removal efficiencies of BOD as 87.0%, COD 80.7%,TKN 92.7%, TP 81.5%, nitrate 80.5% and nitrite 78.7%. With respect to AIT peripheral canal, the story was completely different due to the fact that it did not receive wastewater. The results showed average maximum and minimum concentration figures as COD (32.0-14.5) mg/L, BOD (18.2-12.4) mg/L, TKN (1.27-0.32) mg/L, TP (0.96-0.22) mg/L, pH (8.05-7.3), DO (8.2-4.8) mg/L, EC (72.6-68.7) μS/cm, nitrate (0.37-0.14) mg/L, nitrite (0.3-0.12) mg/L and orthophosphate (0.52-0.14). Therefore, the research has brought to the light, that utilization of the wetlands for aquaculture production is not only realistic but also practicable to increasing the efficiency of reusing energy and water resources and at the same time attaining environmental sustainability. Hence, it is important to make a shift away from the current wastewater treatment practices and embark on more efficient means which is environmentally sustainability. |
| Year | 2014 |
| Type | Thesis |
| School | School of Environment, Resources, and Development (SERD) |
| Department | Department of Energy and Climate Change (Former title: Department of Energy, Environment, and Climate Change (DEECC)) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Energy Technology (ET) |
| Chairperson(s) | Shipin Oleg V.;Piet Lens; |
| Examination Committee(s) | Thammarat Koottatep;Eldon Rene Raj; |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | Ghana Education Trust Fund;Asian Institute of Technology Fellowship; |
| Degree | Thesis (M.Sc.) - Asian Institute of Technology - UNESCO-IHE, 2014 |