my love too. saltwater vs fresh, just because there are less snakes. but that's a personal issue, having little to do with filter capacity. i'd suppose freshwater marshes/wetlands would take precedence when it comes to filtering abilities for drinking water....

our group is currently building a wetland nursery in maryland, 1 mile from the dc border. it'll be the first of its type, designed specifically for educational purposes. however, the 4 or 5 species we'll propagate and grow-out will eventually be replanted into the anacostia river, i highly polluted urban waterway. our biggest problems are impermeable surfaces, e. coli contamination from leaky pipes, stormwater problems, and sediment loading.

as for personal systems, that's a good point you brought up. we all know everyone that would have such a system may not be up to the loads of required maintenance and daily monitoring. then again, if there was an educational base and the infrastructure to support such system preservation, we'd be good to go. i'd think it's best to start small, and use such systems solely as a pretreatment option, reducing the demand on already stressed treatment facilities.

www.anacostiaws.org
www.earthfirstjournal.org/