Passage 2 Water Treatment 2: Reed Bed
SECTION 2
READING PASSAGE 2
You should spend about 20 minutes on Question 14-26 which are based on Reading
Passage 2 below.
Water Treatment 2: Reed Bed
A
Nowadays subsurface flow wetlands are a common alternative in Europe for the
treatment of wastewater in rural areas. mainly in the last 10 to 12 years, there has been
significant growth in the number and size of the systems in use. Compared to common
treatment facilities, wetlands lower in cost investment, lesser to maintain, and are ideal
for densely populated rural or suburban areas rather than urban areas.
B
The Common Read has the ability to transfer oxygen from its leaves, down through its
stem and rhizomes and out via its root system. As a result of this action, a very high
population of micro-organisms occurs in the root system, with zones of aerobic, anoxic,
and anaerobic conditions. Therefore with the waste water moving very slowly and
carefully through the mass of Reed roots, this liquid can be successfully treated.
C
A straightforward definition of a reed bed is if you have dirty water in your pool or
water, which is heavily polluted, Read Beds will be planted to make the water clean
again. This is good for ecology and living organisms and fish in the water. Reed Beds
have a wide range of qualities and are acceptable for cleaning everything from
secondary to tertiary treatment of mild domestic effluent, to rural waste and even
heavy industrial contaminants. The reason why they’re so effective is often that within
the bed’s root sector, natural biological, physical and chemical processes interact with
one another to degrade or remove a good range of pollutants. Reed beds can be built in
a number of variants, but mainly they are of the horizontal flow or vertical (down) flow
configuration where water flows through the beds horizontally or vertically.
HORIZONTAL FLOW REED BED SYSTEMS
D
Horizontal-flow wetlands may be of two types: free-water surface-flow (FWF) or
subsurface water-flow (SSF). In the former, the effluent flows freely above the
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Passage 2 Water Treatment 2: Reed Bed
sand/gravel bed in which the reeds etc. are planted; in the latter effluent passes through
the sand/ gravel bed. In FWF-type wetlands, the effluent is treated by plant stems,
leaves and rhizomes. Such FWF wetlands are densely planted and typically have water-
depths of less than 0.4m. However, dense planting can limit oxygen diffusion into the
water. These systems work particularly well for low strength effluents or effluents that
have undergone some form of pretreatment and play an invaluable role in tertiary
treatment and the polishing of effluents. The horizontal reed flow system uses a long
reed bed, Where the liquid slowly flows horizontally through. The length of the reed bed
is about 100 meters. The downside of the horizontal reed beds is that they use up lots of
land space and they do take quite a long time to produce clean water.
VERTICAL FLOW REED BED SYSTEMS
E
A vertical flow reed bed is a sealed, gravel-filled trench with reeds growing in it (see the
picture below). The common reed oxygenates the water, which helps to create the right
environment for colonies of bacteria to break down unwanted organic matter and
pollutants. The reeds also make the bed attractive to wildlife.
How does a vertical flow reed bed work?
F
In vertical flow (Downflow) reed beds, the wastewater is applied on top of the reed bed,
flows down through a rhizome zone with sludge as substrate, then the root zone with
sand as substrate and followed by a layer of gravel for drainage, and is collected in an
under drainage system of large stones. The effluent flows on to the surface of the bed
and percolates slowly through the different layers into an outlet pipe, which leads to a
horizontal flow bed and is cleaned by millions of bacteria, algae, fungi, and
microorganisms that digest the waste, including sewage. There is no standing water so
there should be no unpleasant smells.
G
Vertical flow reed bed systems are much more effective than horizontal flow reed-beds
not only in reducing biochemical oxygen demanded (BOD) and suspended solids (SS)
levels but also in reducing ammonia levels and eliminating smells. Usually considerably
smaller than horizontal flow beds, but they are capable of handling much stronger
effluents which contain heavily polluted matters and have longer lifetime value. A
vertical reed bed system works more efficiently than a horizontal reed bed system, but
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Passage 2 Water Treatment 2: Reed Bed
it requires more management, and its reed beds are often operated for a few days then
rested, so several beds and a distribution system are needed.
H
There are several advantages of Reed Bed systems over traditional forms of water
treatment: first, they have low construction and running costs; second, they are easy
management; third they have an excellent reduction of biochemical oxygen demand
and suspended solids; last, they have a potential for efficient removal of a wide range of
pollutants.
I
Reed beds are natural habitats found in floodplains waterlogged depressions and
estuaries. The natural bed systems are a biologically proved, and an environmentally
friendly and visually unobtrusive way of treating wastewater and have the extra virtue
of frequently been better than mechanical wastewater treatment systems. In the
medium to long term reed bed systems are, in most cases, more cost-effective in
installment than any other wastewater treatment. They are robust and require little
maintenance. They are naturally environmentally sound protecting groundwater, dams,
creeks, rivers, and estuaries.
Questions 14-16
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 2?
In boxes 14-16 on your answer sheet, write
TRUE if the statement is true.
FALSE if the statement is false
NOT GIVEN if the information is not given in the passage.
14 The Reed bed system is a conventional method for water treatment in the urban
area.
15 In the reed roots, there’s a series of process that helps breakdown the pollutants.
16 Escherichia coli is the most difficult bacteria to be dismissed.
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Passage 2 Water Treatment 2: Reed Bed
Questions 17-19
Complete the diagram below.
Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS OR A NUMBER from the passage for each
answer.
Questions 20-24
Use the information in the passage to match the advantages and disadvantages of the
two systems: horizontal flow system and downflow system (listed A-H) below.
Write the appropriate letters A-H in boxes 20-24 on your answer sheet.
20……….…………, which is the advantage of the down-flow system.
However, 21…………..………. and 22………..……… are the disadvantages of down-flow
system
23………………and 24……….………… are the two benefits of the horizontal flow system.
However, it’s less effective and efficient.
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Passage 2 Water Treatment 2: Reed Bed
A It can deal with a more seriously polluted effluent.
B It requires more beds than one compared to the other.
C It needs less control and doesn’t need to be taken care of all the time.
D It requires a lot of guidance.
E It can’t work all the time because the pool needs time to rest and recover
after a certain period.
F It’s a lot more complicated to build the system.
G The system is easy to be built which does not need an auxiliary system.
H It consumes less water.
Questions 25-26
Choose two correct letters from the following A, B, C, D, or E.
Write your answers in boxes 25-26 on your answer sheet.
What are the TWO benefits of natural bed systems when compared to conventional
systems?
A Operation does not require electricity or fuel supply.
B They’re visually good and environmentally friendly.
C No mechanical systems are involved.
D They’re to be set up and used in less cost.
E They do not break down.
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Passage 2 Water Treatment 2: Reed Bed
ANSWER
14. FALSE
15. TRUE
16. NOT GIVEN
17. sludge
18. sand
19. gravel
20. A
21. B
22. E
23. C
24. G
25. B
26. D
