Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID 2009GA197B

Quantification of Vegetative Flow Resistance in Constructed Wetlands

Institute: Georgia
Year Established: 2009 Start Date: 2009-03-01 End Date: 2010-02-28
Total Federal Funds: $18,044 Total Non-Federal Funds: $45,095

Principal Investigators: Thorsten Stoesser

Project Summary: Quantification of vegetative flow resistance is essential for simulating the hydrodynamic behavior of constructed wetlands. This project aims to provide a more sophisticated approach with which flow resistance in constructed and natural wetlands can be quantified. In a collaborative effort between Georgia Tech and the Clayton County Water Authority (CCWA) the hydrodynamics in two selected wetland cells will be studied by means of tracer tests. Based on the field work an enhanced mathematical approach accounting for vegetative roughness of natural plants will be developed and validated. This model is considered a major improvement over commonly applied methods and will facilitate accurate predictions of hydrodynamics in constructed and natural wetlands.