{"id":114573,"date":"2021-10-24T22:19:47","date_gmt":"2021-10-25T02:19:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/savethewater.org\/?p=114573"},"modified":"2021-10-24T22:19:47","modified_gmt":"2021-10-25T02:19:47","slug":"passive-water-treatment-systems-what-you-need-to-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/savethewater.org\/passive-water-treatment-systems-what-you-need-to-know\/","title":{"rendered":"Passive Water Treatment Systems: What You Need to Know"},"content":{"rendered":"
Source<\/span><\/i><\/a> (no endorsement)<\/span><\/p>\n By Matthew Taylor, Associate Researcher & Writer for Save The Water\u2122 | October 24, 2021<\/p>\n Did you know that there are other ways to treat water besides using traditional systems such as filters or treatment plants? A good example of an alternative to these approaches, which are active water treatment systems, are passive water treatment systems. These technologies are lesser-known but can be equally as effective and interesting.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Passive water treatment systems do not require regular human intervention to operate. They rely more heavily on <\/span>natural chemical, biological, and biogeochemical processes to treat water<\/span><\/a>.<\/span> This is in contrast to active water systems, such as an in situ chemical injection program or a water treatment plant<\/span><\/span>. Both of these options <\/span>require<\/span><\/span> consistent human maintenance and upkeep.<\/span><\/p>\n One example of when a passive water treatment system may be used is when a mining operation is closing down. A passive system is preferable in this situation to treat the mine\u2019s water as there is little-to-no human presence around the site as mining activities are coming to an end. Also, this water must be treated for years after the mine officially closes while workers are long gone.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n There are many kinds of passive treatment systems, including:<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The water in a subsurface flow wetland does not come into contact with atmospheric oxygen. Similar to an anoxic limestone drain, metals do not oxidize and metal precipitates do not cover the bottom of the wetland. The water in a surface flow wetland, meanwhile, does come in contact with atmospheric oxygen. Overall, this means that a surface flow wetland loses its effectiveness more quickly than a subsurface flow wetland.<\/span><\/p>\n Since it is clear that there are many types of passive systems to choose from, how do developers choose the right one to build? A number of factors, including budget, location, availability of resources, and the chemistry of the water are all taken into account before making the final decision.<\/span><\/p>\n The main advantage of a passive system<\/span><\/a> is that it does not need constant maintenance or upkeep to operate. A passive system can run on its own with infrequent checks by maintenance crews to make sure that it is operating as it should.<\/span><\/p>\n Also, passive treatment systems are usually less obvious to the untrained eye than active treatment systems. They look more aesthetically pleasing and natural. An active treatment system like a water treatment plant may be an industrial eyesore. A passive treatment system like a permeable reactive barrier or constructed wetland can fly under the radar to the casual observer.<\/span><\/p>\n Lastly, passive systems do not require constant maintenance or intervention. They also have far lower operating and capital costs than many active treatment systems. Lower costs are a major benefit to developers and owners.<\/span><\/p>\n Despite the many advantages of passive treatment systems, they are <\/span>not always favorable over active treatment systems<\/span><\/a>. For example, while infrequent maintenance and intervention can be advantageous for many reasons, it can come with downsides as well. For example, a lack of regular interaction with a passive treatment system can potentially lead to inconsistent tracking of water quality.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Also, passive treatment systems are newer inventions. They aren\u2019t always as well-known or well-understood as active treatment systems by water treatment experts. This could potentially lead to gaps in knowledge and uncertainties when dealing with these technologies.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Finally, passive treatment systems may require much more space than active treatment systems to build. A constructed wetland, for example, may need many available acres to develop. A chemical injection site, meanwhile, would require less land.<\/span><\/p>\n It is clear that passive treatment systems serve as viable, low-maintenance alternatives to active treatment systems. While no water treatment system can last indefinitely without human intervention, passive treatment systems require minimal upkeep to treat water and can last for many years.<\/span><\/p>\n Another benefit we can take advantage of is that there are several kinds of passive treatment systems available that can treat surface water and groundwater. With each having its own treatment process and ability to treat different contaminants, it\u2019s great that we have more than just one choice.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n If you want to learn more about different water treatment technologies, take a look at articles like <\/span>this one<\/span><\/a> and others on the <\/span>Save the Water<\/span>TM<\/sup><\/span> website<\/span><\/a>!<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Source (no endorsement) By Matthew Taylor, Associate Researcher & Writer for Save The Water\u2122 | October 24,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12812,"featured_media":114575,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[61],"tags":[3503,576,3501],"yst_prominent_words":[1286,1194,1993,792],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/savethewater.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114573"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/savethewater.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/savethewater.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/savethewater.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12812"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/savethewater.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=114573"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/savethewater.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114573\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":114591,"href":"https:\/\/savethewater.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114573\/revisions\/114591"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/savethewater.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/114575"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/savethewater.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=114573"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/savethewater.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=114573"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/savethewater.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=114573"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/savethewater.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=114573"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}What is passive water treatment?<\/b><\/h2>\n
What are some examples of passive treatment systems?<\/b><\/h2>\n
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Why choose a passive system to treat water over an active system?<\/b><\/h2>\n
Why <\/b>not<\/i><\/b> choose a passive system to treat water over an active system?<\/b><\/h2>\n
The bottom line<\/b><\/h2>\n