Natural groundwater from the towns of Wabana and Freshwater and treated well water from the town of Wabana in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada were tested separately and together in sand columns to study the removal of arsenic. The most ideal conditions for arsenic removal appeared to include an arsenic concentration of approximately 35 µg/L and lower, an Fe:As mass ratio in the order of 65 and lower, and aeration of the sand media. Active aeration by pumping air though the filter, passive aeration by scraping off top layers of sand and virtual aeration by diluting the strength of the water being treated, were employed and compared. For tests where groundwater from the towns of Wabana and Freshwater was combined, arsenic removal was optimized and other elements, in addition to iron, were also correlated with effluent arsenic. Further, for these same tests there was a gradual increase in effluent pH that could have been due to oxygen depletion or gradually more reducing conditions in the sand column. Where Ni, Mn and Zn were correlated with effluent arsenic it was concluded that the increase in pH increased heavy metal removal and arsenic release. In the test where the treated Wabana water made up a greater proportion of the mix than the Wabana groundwater, lithium was also correlated with arsenic.

来自瓦瓦纳和淡水镇的天然地下水以及来自加拿大纽芬兰和拉布拉多的瓦瓦纳镇的处理后的井水分别进行了测试，并在沙塔中进行了测试，以研究砷的去除。去除砷的最理想条件似乎包括：砷浓度约为35 µg / L或更低，Fe：As质量比为65或更低的数量级，以及砂介质的曝气。使用并比较了通过过滤器泵送空气的主动曝气，刮除沙层的被动曝气和通过稀释所处理水的强度进行的虚拟曝气。对于将瓦巴纳（Wabana）镇和淡水镇的地下水进行合并的测试，对除砷进行了优化，除铁之外的其他元素也与污水中的砷相关。进一步，对于这些相同的测试，出水pH值逐渐增加，这可能是由于氧气消耗不足或沙柱中的还原条件逐渐增加所致。当Ni，Mn和Zn与废水中的砷相关时，可以得出结论，pH的增加会增加重金属的去除和砷的释放。在测试中，经过处理的瓦巴纳水比瓦巴纳地下水所占比例更大，锂也与砷相关。