Town of Orleans Floating Wetlands

A feasibility study for installing and monitoring floating constructed wetlands helps ensure informed decision-making for reducing nitrogen levels in Cape Cod Bay.

Biohabitats helped AECOM provide water quality, wastewater planning and engineering services to reduce excessive nitrogen discharges in the Town of Orleans’ ponds, estuaries and embayment. The first implementation of a “Hybrid” approach under the Cape Cod 208 Water Quality Plan, the project consists of conceptual and preliminary design to update the town’s 2011 Comprehensive Wastewater Management Plan to reflect its 2015 Water Quality Management Plan. The goal is to minimize the proposed sewered footprint by maximizing the use of several non-traditional technologies: Coastal Habitat Restoration, Aquaculture, Floating Constructed Wetlands, and Permeable Reactive Barriers.

AECOM enlisted Biohabitats to determine the feasibility of installing and monitoring a series of floating constructed wetlands for reducing nitrogen levels in the estuarine waters of Orleans. The design and implementation of these innovative landscape/aquascape elements use natural wetland processes to help filter water pollution and inspire ecological stewardship through public participatory learning. A variety of collection, treatment, and disposal system alternatives were evaluated along with septage handling, treatment, and disposal requirements.

The project also included conceptual design for three non-traditional demonstration projects to be implemented in 2016. Tasks included siting, engineering design, initial permitting, cost estimating and development of monitoring plans that will be incorporated into an overall Adaptive Management Plan to evaluate impacts of technologies on reducing nitrogen. The project team worked closely with stakeholders and regulators to obtain one of the first watershed permits granted by MassDEP.