Constructed-Wetland/Reservoir-Tank System Used for Rainwater Harvesting in Bogota, Colombia

Although some research into rainwater harvesting (RWH) and sustainable urban drainage systems (SUDS) have been carried out in Colombia but no specific project has taken SUDS into account for RWH purposes. This is the gap thatthe Pontificia Universidad Javeriana-Bogotá's RWH project seeks to fill with research stemming from work done by various members of the university's academic community since 2007 (especially the research group Ciencia e Ingeniería del Agua y el Ambiente). This project stays within the framework of the university'senvironmental management planand enjoys supportthe support of its physical resources office (PRO).For thisarticle, the procedures followed to plan and design a constructed-wetland/reservoir-tank RWH system on the campus along with relevant data were discussed. To gauge the system's performance,ultrasonic level measuring devices and UV-Visible spectrometerswere installed. Initial results showed that the constructed-wetland delays runoff hydrographs between 11 and 53 minutes, outflow runoff peaks vary between 37% and 78% of those observed for inflow and the constructed-wetland retainsup to 46% of total rainfall volume. KEYWORDS Constructed-wetland, horizontal subsurface flow (HSSF) wetland, sustainable urban drainage system (SUDS), rainwater harvesting (RWH), pollutants