[Environmental] Constructed Wetlands Along Dahan River Bring Life Back to the River

[Environmental] Constructed Wetlands Along Dahan River Bring Life Back to the River (Chinese Version)

Udn.com/CNA-News (2009/07/17) & The Liberty Times E-paper (2009/07/18) Constructed wetlands can not only purify sewage but also help conserve biodiversity. Environmental Protection Bureau, Taipei County, is executing 11 construction projects building wetlands along Dahan River. These wetlands all together are expected to deal with more than 0.145 million tons of waste water per day with the average cost of five thousand dollars per ton, far lower than the forty thousand dollars of sewage treatment plant. Besides, these constructed wetlands become wild habitats. Fu-Zhou Swamp, whose construction is going to finish next month, has conserved various wildling species. In the future, interpretation guide service will be provided.

Fu-Zhou Swamp construction, including the near gravel treatment area, is 40 hectares; this is the biggest constructed wetland in Taipei County. The sewage into the swapm comes from Nan-Tz-Go, estimated forty thousand tons per day, one-fourth of which gets filtered in the gravel area and goes back to Nan-Tz-Go after purified, and the rest goes to Fu-Zhou Swamp and gets naturally purified there before going back to Dahan River. Because the construction of Fu-Zhou Swamp is not yet finished, for the time being water from Dahan River is drawn into the swamp culturing the ecosystem there.

Environmental Protection Bureau says that the process of construction takes great concern with preserving the local wildlife and materials. The purified waste water will go back to the source, forming an endless circulation. Besides, so far the wetlands along Dahan River have formed an eco-corridor. Precious wild animals such as Black-Winged Stilt, Painted Snipe and fireflies are observed in Fu-Zhou Swamp. Many bird-lovers have moved from Hua-Jiang Bridge to Fu-Zhou Swamp.


Reference:
udn.com/CNA-News 2009/07/17 (Chinese)
The Liberty Times E-paper 2009/07/18 (Chinese)