The objective of this Bachelor’s thesis was to study the effects of using wetland plants as a method of improving the quality of water. The wetland used in this study was man-made and a simplified version of an actual wetland. To conduct the experiment it was decided to use two different kinds of wastewater to mimic the extreme case of contamination in wetlands. The first batch of wastewater was artificially made and simulates the wastewater from areas of dispersed settlements. The second batch of wastewater was received from a major brewery in Finland. This batch of wastewater simulates the effects of industrial wastewater.

Both batches of wastewater were analyzed for the amounts of phosphate and nitrate they held. The man-made wastewater batch was also analyzed for the concentration of copper, which was added in the form of copper sulfate. These analysis periods spanned over 10 and 11 days. The phosphate and nitrate concentrations were analyzed with photometric instruments and the copper concentration was analyzed using the MP-AES method. When the analysis periods were over, the leaves and roots of the wetland plants were analyzed with a XRF-instrument.

The results obtained from these experiments were consistent although, they were not optimal. Within the first four days of both experiments the phosphate levels of the wastewaters plummeted and then started to grow exponentially. The copper content in the first batch of wastewater was reduced by 68 %. By the end of the experiment, however, the copper levels were reduced by 96 %.