Wetlands Treatment Project

Speaking of watersheds and wetlands – VWP is the first island location in Ontario to have a sub-surface water treatment project or wetland to treat wastewater. We worked for five years with the Ministries of Environment and Health and a consulting firm for authorization to create this marshland. It was completed in 2000, at the time when there were only 90 wetland installations in operation in Canada!

Wetlands are areas inundated with surface or ground water that support plants adapted to saturated soil conditions. Wetlands are valuable water-storage sites, holding back floods in wet seasons and gradually releasing the water in times of drought. They filter out pollutants and sediments from water that passes through them. They are also irreplaceable habitat for a vast number of birds who breed or feed in them. Wetlands have been described as “nature’s kidneys” because the physical, chemical, and biological processes that break down some compounds (e.g. nitrogen-containing compounds, sulfates) and filter out others. The natural pollutant-removal capabilities of wetlands have brought them increased attention as a way to filter wastewater.