Treatment Wetland Processes, Design, and Implementation

SCOTT WALLACE

Scott Wallace has spent his career over the last 40 years in the private sector, engineering over 250 projects in 22 countries. He is the co-author of Treatment Wetlands, Second Edition, which has been widely considered the definitive textbook on wetland treatment systems.

Scott publishes extensively, with over 80 scientific papers to date. He has been the inventor of over 12 treatment wetland related patents. He invented the first successful aerated wetland process, Forced Bed Aeration in 1997; led the initial creation of the TAYA fill-and-drain process in 2004 and was a co-inventor of the Rhizosph'air process in 2020. While in Minnesota, Scott developed energy balance methods, using in-situ field measurements for insulating cold-climate treatment wetlands now commonly used in sub-freezing environments worldwide. He is a founding member of Global Wetland Technology (GWT).

Scott earned a BSE degree in Civil Engineering and an MS degree in Environmental Engineering, both from the University of Iowa, USA, with a research focus on soil chemistry. Prior to becoming an engineer, he worked as a wastewater treatment plant operator, bench chemist, and field services technician. He is often engaged in projects from design, pilot testing, construction, and start-up.

JAIME NIVALA

Jaime Nivala is a director of research at INRAE (French National Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment), in Lyon, France in the research unit REVERSAAL, where she has worked since 2019. Prior to that, she worked for 12 years as a scientist at the Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research in Leipzig, Germany. From 2001-2008, Jaime worked in the private sector for North American Wetland Engineering in Minnesota (USA) first as a part-time intern, then as an entry-level engineer, continuing part-time work while earning her Masters' degree, and finally as a full-time employee before moving to Europe to pursue a career in academia. Jaime has over 25 years of experience in the treatment wetland field, with a special focus on aerated treatment wetland technology development, optimization, and transfer.

Jaime holds a BS in Civil Engineering (University of Minnesota, USA), an MS in Environmental Engineering (University of Iowa, USA), and PhD in Biosciences (Aarhus University, Denmark). She earned her habilitation (professional dissertation) in the field of Chemistry, Processes, and Environment from INSA Lyon and the University of Claude Bernard Lyon I in 2021. Jaime is active with the International Water Association (IWA) Specialist Group "Wetland Systems for Water Pollution Control", holding the position of co-chair from 2021-2025, contributing to the IWA Task Group "Mainstreaming Treatment Wetlands" which produced two open-access textbooks in 2017 and 2019, and being an active member of the specialist group since 2004.

GÜNTER LANGERGRABER

Günter Langergraber is Senior Scientist at the Institute of Sanitary Engineering and Water Pollution Control at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna (BOKU University) with more than 25 years' experience in treatment wetland research.

Günter is a specialist for vertical flow wetlands and - as developer of the HYDRUS Wetland Module - for numerical simulation of subsurface flow treatment wetlands. Besides research in treatment wetlands, he is active in the fields of resources-oriented sanitation solutions and nature-based solutions.

Günter holds a PhD in Civil Engineering and Water Management and has habilitation (professional dissertation) in the field of Sanitary Engineering, both from BOKU University. He is active in various positions in the International Water Association (IWA) actively promoting treatment wetland technology. He is also active in standardization agencies related to treatment wetland designs and in activities related to mainstreaming treatment wetland technology all around the world and in particular, the Danube River basin.

PASCAL MOLLE

Pascal Molle is a director of research at INRAE (French National Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment) in Lyon, France, in the research unit REVERSAAL. He has over 25 years' experience in the field of treatment wetland research.

His research is focused on the development and optimization of treatment wetland processes for a range of influent types (domestic wastewater, sludge, combined sewer overflows) and climate conditions (temperate, tropical, cold). He established and has led a French national group on the assessment of new treatment processes for small communities (www.epnac.fr), engaging all French public institutions involved in sanitation issues. He also created a dedicated research platform for treatment wetlands technologies (REFLET Platform). In addition to his research on treatment wetlands technologies, he is actively engaged in the development of public policies to support urban water management at the national level. He has also conducted a range of expert studies on wastewater treatment issues worldwide.

He holds a PhD in Civil Engineering for wastewater treatment from Montpellier University and a habilitation (professional dissertation) in chemical engineering from the INSA engineering school in Lyon. He is an active member of the International Water Association (IWA) Specialist Group on "Wetland Systems for Water Pollution Control," contributing to IWA Task Groups and conference organizations.

MARCOS VON SPERLING

Marcos von Sperling is Brazilian, graduated as a civil engineer, and worked for more than 45 years in the field of wastewater treatment. He received his PhD in Environmental Engineering from the Imperial College London, UK. After a period in a consultancy company, he embraced an academic career, becoming a full professor (now retired) in the Department of Sanitary and Environmental Engineering at the Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil.

Throughout his professional life, Marcos showed a special dedication to natural wastewater treatment systems and simplified solutions applicable to low- and middle-income countries, including waste stabilization ponds and treatment wetlands. This encompassed conception and design of new systems and performance evaluation and modeling of existing units. He published hundreds of papers in peer-reviewed journals and conference proceedings and had a keen interest in writing textbooks.

Marcos had a strong involvement in IWA's activities, from which he was nominated Fellow and, in 2021, was the recipient of its highest accolade (IWA Global Water Award). He was also appointed as an International Honorary Member of the American Academy of Environmental Engineers and Scientists (AAEES).

KELA WEBER

Kela is a Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, and the Director of the Environmental Sciences Group (ESG) at the Royal Military College of Canada. He is also a practicing Professional Engineer. Kela received his PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of Waterloo after which he completed postdoctoral fellowships at the Centre for Control of Emerging Contaminants (CCEC) in Ontario, and in the Research for Subsurface Transport and Remediation (RESTORE) group at Western University.

Kela's applied research program supports the management of contaminated sites in Canada. His team has been to over 150 contaminated sites across the entire breadth of Canada. It is a unique multidisciplinary group that conducts applied research on a wide variety of environmental issues and technologies with emphasis on contaminated sites, emerging contaminants, and remote locations. Kela has developed several remediation technologies and holds patents for destruction-based processes for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in soil. Through his work Kela has trained over 250 students, research associates, and postdoctoral fellows, and received several commendations from government, academia, and industry.

The heart of Kela's fundamental research program investigates microbial communities in treatment wetlands, aquifers, soils, and biofilms with a focus on mechanistically understanding their contributions to overall ecosystem function (including water treatment). Through his work he has published over 60 peer-reviewed publications, and contributed over 200 conference talks, workshops, panels, and invited lectures.