Nature-Based Solutions

Nature-based systems require minimal electricity – no pumps, blowers, or mechanical equipment consuming energy continuously. Once established, operating costs are minimal compared to conventional treatment plants.

Reed beds and wetlands create habitat for wildlife, support pollinators and enhance biodiversity. Your wastewater treatment becomes a landscape feature supporting local ecology rather than industrial equipment to be hidden.

For eco-developments, green buildings or organisations with environmental commitments, nature-based treatment demonstrates genuine sustainability – using natural processes rather than energy-intensive mechanical systems.

Properly designed reed beds require minimal maintenance – annual reed harvesting and occasional monitoring. No mechanical parts to fail, no service contracts for electrical components, no replacement blowers or pumps. Maintenance is minimal but MUST be upkept to ensure efficacy.

Despite their simplicity, nature-based systems achieve excellent treatment quality, meeting Environment Agency discharge standards and General Binding Rules when correctly designed, sized and maintained.

Heritage sites, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and locations where visual impact matters benefit from systems that blend into the landscape rather than industrial treatment equipment.

As part of WCI Group, our Consulting Engineers design nature-based systems ensuring they’re correctly sized for treatment performance, not just attractive features that fail to meet discharge standards. Our designs balance ecology with engineering.

We’re honest about what nature-based systems can achieve and where they’re appropriate. Some sites and applications suit these systems perfectly; others require mechanical treatment. We advise based on what genuinely works, not eco-fashion.

We’ve installed numerous reed beds and constructed wetlands – we understand the construction details that make them work: liner installation, media selection, planting densities, hydraulic distribution. This practical experience prevents the failures that plague poorly constructed systems.

Nature-based solutions often work best as part of treatment trains – combining septic tanks for primary treatment with reed beds for secondary treatment. We design and install complete systems, not just individual components.

Horizontal Flow Reed Beds – Sub-surface flow through gravel media planted with reeds. Suitable for domestic wastewater, small commercial systems

Vertical Flow Reed Beds – Sequential vertical flow through multiple beds. Suitable for sites with limited space or stringent discharge standards

Constructed Wetlands – Shallow wetland systems with emergent vegetation. Suitable for large site properties, estates, eco-developments

Willow Systems – Evapotranspiration beds planted with willows. Suitable for sites where discharge isn’t viable or desired.