ARM Ltd. services

Over the years we have come across many systems that have simply been over engineered, with many unnecessary, complex and expensive structures. To aid contractors we have adopted a simple design philosophy to ensure every system undergoes value engineering.

Existing wetlands require regular monitoring to highlight potential issues before they start impacting the environment. This involves regular sampling of water from the inlet and outlet of the wetland, and measuring flow data to determine the system’s performance. Monitoring and evaluation can be part of an asset management agreement, or asset assessment and provides invaluable information. We can also install flow meters and a sampling regime which includes the analysis of BOD, COD, suspended solids, nitrate, nitrite and ammonia as a minimum standard.

If you wish to construct a reed bed independently or have construction arrangements with alternative contractors, we offer a design only service. Our design only service is available to small developers and individual home owners for the treatment of wastewater produced by the equivalent of five or more people, thereby making reed bed technology accessible to all.

ARM continually invest in research and development into reed beds and constructed wetland technology and have our own development centre on site at Rugeley. Set up to investigate treating agricultural effluents with reed beds in the 80s, the original wetland system now recieves sewage from the trading estate, and includes horizontal flow, vertical flow and aerated reed beds. This has now been extended and we have over 20 wetland cells available to trial numerous wetland applications.

The asset assessment package includes a site visit to assess various criteria  to determine the operating condition of the reed bed. This is followed by the provision of a written report with recommendations to ensure you meet your discharge consent- whether constructed by us or not. Keeping reed beds and sewage treatment works operating at their optimal capacity is a must and our specialist knowledge of water and sewage treatment enables us to assess individual sites and deliver a cost effective long term solution to effluent problems.

How fast a reed bed clogs up varies from site to site and depends on the operating conditions, previous maintenance regimes and effluent characteristics. Reed beds that have not had a maintenance regime, or those treating effluents with a high organic matter, will have a reduced working life. ARM offers a refurbishment service to revitalise your reed bed , alleviate clogging, remove sludge, wash gravel or effectively fully rebuild using existing assets found on site to make sure your beds get back within consent.

Reed beds are not maintenance-free, though they require very low levels of care compared to conventional treatment plants. Following the installation or refurbishment of a constructed wetland, we provide a post-commissioning service covering a basic maintenance agreement. Our maintenance service agreement provides basic maintenance and service of a reed bed for a period of two years. The agreement includes a number of site visits each year to keep systems running smoothly and we will keep you fully informed with the production of site visit reports which are logged on-site specifying work undertaken and potential issues to give peace of mind.

Every system ARM design and construct comes with a process guarantee and automatically comes with a two year service and maintenance contract. It is our responsibility to source the most cost-effective process from your brief. Although we specialise in the design and construction of reed beds, this technology will not necessarily be utilised in the final design of the treatment solution.

Wetland technology has developed over the years, and we get asked the same questions by clients and operators of reed beds regarding their suitability for specific effluents. There is a general uncertainty of their treatment capabilities, how they work, their overall benefits, and what levels of maintenance are required.