Introduction

The availability of clean and safe drinking water is a global issue. One of the methods to ensure access to clean water is through the use of plants. Plants have been known to filter water in wetlands and riparian zones. This experiment aims to investigate the effectiveness of plants in filtering contaminated water.

Materials and Methods

The experiment was conducted using a 5-liter glass container where we introduced contaminated water. The contaminated water was obtained from a nearby pond, which was heavily polluted with pollutants such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and some microorganisms. We added three different types of plants in separate containers containing gravel substrate to plant in the glass container. These plants included reed, cattail, and water hyacinth. We waited for four weeks and monitored the quality of the water weekly using a pH meter, a turbidity meter, and total dissolved solids meter.

Results

After four weeks of floating plants in the polluted water container, the quality of water had improved significantly. The results showed a decrease in total dissolved solids (TDS), turbidity, and pH levels. The cattail had the most significant impact on the water quality. The TDS levels had reduced by 85%, turbidity had reduced by 90%, and pH had decreased from 7.2 to 6.3. The water hyacinth had also had a substantial impact, with TDS levels reducing by 75%, turbidity by 70%, and pH decreasing from 7.2 to 6.9. Lastly, the reeds had the smallest impact, with TDS levels reducing by 55%, turbidity by 50%, and pH decreasing from 7.2 to 6.5.

Conclusion

Plants have the potential to filter contaminated water, and this is an eco-friendly method of water treatment that can be applied on a larger scale. This study showed that cattail plants had the most significant impact on the water quality in this experiment. They removed the most pollutants and microorganisms from the contaminated water, resulting in a significantly improved quality of water. The water hyacinth and reeds also had substantial impacts. These results suggest that the planting of the right kind of plants can have a substantial effect on the quality of water, and the use of plants to purify water can be used as a sustainable and efficient method of water treatment.

Recommendations

This study can be used as a guide for policymakers, engineers, and designers to use plants for water treatment. Cattail plants have proven to be the most effective of the three plants tested in this study, and they could be used on a larger scale in riparian zones and wetlands to treat contaminated water. Further studies could include testing the effectiveness of different plant species or varying the concentration of pollutants in the water. For a long-term application, maintenance practices, and management techniques could be studied to ensure the continued effectiveness of this water treatment method.