Tests must be conducted to ensure compatibility of the sludge with the proposed plant species. The system has a high water requirement as the reed bed must be kept saturated. The only mechanical components are pumps for sludge and filtrate, so that operation and maintenance are straightforward and inexpensive. Similar protective gear is required as for workers in a conventional sewage treatment plant. The overall reed bed surface is generally divided into several sections.
Raw sludge is pumped at roughly two-week intervals into one section at a time, in a sequential mode.
The reed beds are full after about ten years of use, when they can be emptied after a final six month maturing period and then reused. This adaptation of reed bed technology to northern climates was developed by Roy Consultants Group in cooperation with the Nepisiguit-Chaleur Solid Waste Commission. In the Canadian context, large tracts of land are often easier to come by. Therefore, many Canadian communities could, in all likelihood, use reed bed systems to treat sludge and to transform it into relatively clean water and odourless, reusable humus. This technology provides an effective alternative for the disposal of sewage sludge, as opposed to sending it to a sanitary landfill.