Examining the effectiveness of wetlands in improving water quality : a case study of selected wetlands in Western Uusimaa region

Abstract

The importance of water to humans, plants, and animals cannot be overemphasized; it is essential for survival. However, the quality of water available across different places varies due to contamination from pollution that is mostly triggered by eutrophication. Eutrophication is driven by wastewater from municipalities, agriculture, and factories in both rural and urban areas. The role of wetlands in supporting water purification has recently increased. As such, the study examines the effectiveness of wetlands in improving water quality using three (3) wetlands as a case study in the Western Uusimaa region. For this research, three-month data on the wetlands were collected through geospatial instruments. The statistical analysis used in this thesis is a two-tail test to compare the water quality of wetland inflow versus outflow. More so, the two-tail test is employed to compare the nutrient inflow and outflow of the three wetlands. The results specifically show that the water quality inflow is significantly difference from the water quality outflow in Wetland 1. However, for wetlands 2 and 3, water quality inflow is not significantly different from the water quality outflow. Also, the study discovered that Wetland 2 is the most effective wetland that supports water quality by reducing eutrophication.