The Muckland Demonstration Project : Agricultural Non-point Source Pollution Control

Abstract

The many muck fields in agriculture that exist in Oswego County offer an opportunity to demonstrate the feasibility of using artificially constructed wetlands to reduce nutrient levels in water draining from these highly fertilized, productive agricultural systems. An artificial wetland was constructed adjacent to a large muckland farm raising onions and sorghum. Water draining from the muck fields was pumped into the constructed wetland and allowed to flow naturally out of the wetland after a retention period determined by the flow regime. The question being asked was can nutrients and sediments be effectively removed from muckland drainage water by an artificial wetland?