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Nature-based treatment technologies, including constructed wetlands, offer significant potential to improve water quality and water security sustainably and cost-effectively. However, broader adoption has been limited by concerns around treatment performance, reliability, land requirements, and a limited understanding of the processes responsible for contaminant removal.
Recent research has focused on improving the understanding of these often perceived “black box” systems and their capacity to treat both legacy contaminants, such as nutrients and metals, and emerging contaminants, including pharmaceuticals, microplastics, and PFAS precursors. Particular attention has been given to a unique type of constructed wetland that relies on indigenous diatoms and other microscopic plant communities rather than conventional wetland vegetation.
This webinar will examine the design, performance, and applications of diatom-based constructed wetlands, including how natural treatment processes can be enhanced through the integration of conventional engineering technologies to improve treatment outcomes and support broader sustainability goals.
In this webinar, our speaker will explore:
The presentation will draw on current research and practical examples to demonstrate how improved process understanding can support the wider adoption of nature-based treatment technologies. Case studies will illustrate the effectiveness of diatom-based wetlands across a range of water treatment challenges and highlight opportunities to combine passive and engineered solutions for enhanced performance.
This webinar will be particularly valuable for environmental consultants, water professionals, contaminated land practitioners, regulators, researchers, local government representatives, and sustainability professionals. A live Q&A will follow, and the session will be recorded.
Professor Sharp’s research focuses on understanding how biogeochemical processes impact the fate of emerging contaminants, metals, and nutrients in the environment. A focus of this work has been on nature-based solutions such as constructed wetlands, riverbank filtration and aquifer recharge into sustainable water treatment infrastructure. He also works toward academic capacity building in southern Peru through collaborative university research that addresses soil and water pollution. Professor Sharp currently serves as Associate Department Head of the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department and was a past director of the Hydrology Program at Colorado School of Mines. He has received teaching and research accolades which include a National Science Foundation CAREER Award and the Colorado School of Mines Excellence in Research Award. He was named a Kavli Fellow of the National Academy of Science and the Society of Mining Engineering Henry Krumb Lecturer. Professor Sharp received an A.B in Geoscience from Princeton University, an M.S. and a PhD in Environmental Engineering from the University of California at Berkeley and conducted postdoctoral studies in Environmental Microbiology at the École Polytechnique Fédérale in Lausanne, Switzerland.
ALGA Member: $37.00
Non-Member: $74.00
Students: $15.00
All fees include GST
All fees are AUD
1 CPD Point
