Geospatial model for establishing constructed wetlands for municipal waste water treatment: Case study in South Bačka District, Serbia

The process of integration into the European Union (EU) requires from new member states significant efforts; not only harmonizing legislation but also respecting all posed standards. Among numerous issues, wastewater purification represents a significant request. To achieve the goal of discharging good-quality water into natural water bodies as recipients, various methods have been used. The method of constructed wetland (CW) is based on wastewater purification by using wetland plants. The method of CWs shows the best results for small settlements for up to 5,000 inhabitants and can be nicely integrated within the landscape of a plain where waterbodies’ banks are overgrown by wetland plants. Such facilities have been used for decades in the territory of the EU, and only a few have been built in the Republic of Serbia. Since the Republic of Serbia is a candidate country for the EU, there is a strong intention to take action focused upon solving wastewater purification from various sources. Therefore, this paper aims to examine favourable locations for CW installations within the rural area of the South Bačka District. Geographic information system was applied for examination of the basic spatial criteria (distance from the settlement, distance from water bodies, elevation, and land use). These were presented in separate maps and finally in one joint map of favourability for establishing CWs in the vicinity of 35 villages within the District. The obtained results have fulfilled the basic spatial preconditions, but further analyses should be conducted to precisely position the location of each CW concerning land ownership criterion.