Treatment MeasuresWetlands : What Is a Wetland?

What are wetlands?

Wetlands are areas of land which are intermittently or permanently inundated by shallow water. Wetlands are not only an attractive landscape feature, but also provide a habitat for native wildlife as well as a potential source of reusable water.

A wetland serves to reduce the sediment and pollutant load of waters through flow velocity reduction and bio-contact (contact with plant species). Currently, wetlands are constructed to treat waters such as stormwater to mitagate (minimise) human impacts upon waterways.

Wetlands can be classified according to their depth, period of inundation and whether the wetland is freshwater or saline.

This information source focuses on the role of wetlands as biological filters and treatment mechanisms to remove catchment sourced contaminants in runoff.

Figure 1: How a wetland works

Figure 1: How a wetland works