These photos show two different Mississippi wetlands in the late fall after the summer growth has been cut and removed. Many people don’t realize that constructed wetlands require maintenance. Removing plants is only part of the maintenance story.
On the left, Eanix Poole (formerly the director of Florida’s onsite program) ponders the use of wetlands while Ralph Turnbo, Mississippi’s onsite program director, investigates the gravel that the plants are bedded in.
Communication between states regarding onsite issues helps move good ideas spread among states. Here program managers and staff from eight Southeastern coastal states are checking out a ‘U’ shaped wetland in Mississippi. Information gathered on this trip influenced the direction we took in Virginia with constructed wetlands and discharging systems.