Name: Savion Young Date: 12/3/16 Class Pd: 4

Wastewater Treatment Activity*

RESOURCES
Please review the following resources to answer the questions that follow.
Wastewater Treatment for Youngsters (Ages 8 to 80)
http://www.metrocouncil.org/Wastewater-Water/Publications-And-Resources/ES_kids_book-pdf.aspx
What Can You Do to Protect Local Waterways? U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
http://www.epa.gov/npdes/pubs/centralized_brochure.pdf
What Happens After the Flush U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, The Family Handyman Magazine
http://www.epa.gov/npdes/pubs/what_happens_after_the_flush.pdf

BACKGROUND
Think about the things that enter the wastewater system from a typical home: human waste; soap, detergents, and cleaning
products from drains and washing machines; food items from garbage disposals; and anything people pour down the sink drain.
How is this material removed so that the water can be safely returned to the environment and used again? The answer depends
on where you live. If your home is not serviced by a public sewer system, your wastes are treated with a septic system. If your
home is connected to a public sewer system, the water goes to a local wastewater treatment plant.
What happens in preliminary treatment at a wastewater treatment plant? Preliminary treatment dirty water
passes through a bar screen. The bar screen takes large amounts of water.

1.

2.

What happens to large objects found in the wastewater? - Wastewater that enters the primary settling tank

(or clarifier) is slowed down to enable the heavier solids to settle to the bottom. Lighter
materials, such as grease, will float to the top of the tank.

3.

4.

What is a grit chamber and how is it used? -

In the Grit Chamber the velocity of flow is decreased to

allow heavier materials such as sand and gravel to settle at the bottom of the tank.

Primary treatment removes 50% of the pollutants in wastewater

Adapted from: Environmental Science Activities for the 21 st Century

Name: Savion Young Date: 12/3/16 Class Pd: 4

5.

What happens to solids such as grease and oil? - The wastewater still has solids remaining after primary

treatment. These solids are either dissolved or suspended. Dissolved solids are very small
solids (e.g., dissolving sugar in water). You cannot see the solids but they are there.
Suspended solids can be likened to the same ends of a magnet. The solids repel each other.
These solids are small, but are visible to the human eye. We remove these dissolved and
suspended solids through the next phase of treatment: Secondary Treatment.

6.

What happens to the sludge in primary treatment? - The sludge is removed and pumped to the solids

treatment process for ultimate disposal.

7.

What happens in secondary treatment? - Secondary treatment is a biological treatment process used

to stabilize the dissolved solids.

8.

What are some examples of microorganisms used in secondary treatment? - Microorganisms (i.e., bacteria and

protozoa) feed on the organic solids (food) in the wastewater and convert the organics into a
cellular or biological mass that can later be removed.

9.

What happens to the remaining dirt? It gets pumped out.

10. What happens to the remaining water? (Discuss the role of chlorine in your answer) - The treated wastewater is
referred to as effluent. Durands effluent is discharged to the Shiawassee River. Before the effluent is discharged
to the river, it undergoes a process to reduce disease-causing organisms called disinfection. Chlorination is
used to disinfect the water prior to discharge. Chlorination involves injecting chlorine into the effluent then
holding it in a contact tank for 20 to 40 minutes. Chlorine can harmful to fish and other aquatic life. After the
water has been held in contact with the chlorine, it is then dechlorinated before testing and discharge. Testing
the effluent before discharge provides assurance that the wastewater has been properly treated and meets all
the requirements to be released to the river.

Name: Savion Young Date: 12/3/16 Class Pd: 4

11.

What is the final process of wastewater treatment? It returns to the river.

12.

According to the U.S. EPA, what does it mean to flush responsibly? What items should you never put down the drain in
your house? Coffee grounds, Eggshells Grease, Fats, Oils, Paper towels.

13.

What did people do with their waste before we had sewer systems and septic tanks? When did the Federal government
start to mandate that wastewater be treated before being returned to rivers, lakes and the ocean? Some people used

wells also chamber pits were initially the only alternative to open defecation.

Click on Blue Plains Virtual Tour: http://esa21.kennesaw.edu/activities/ww-treatment/ww-tour-dc/blue_plains.swf

Since we were not able to visit a wastewater treatment plant, this website provides an interactive virtual tour of a wastewater
treatment facility. It allows you to control the direction of the tour by selecting steps using the aerial view of the plant. Follow the
numbered steps, clicking on the thumbnail images to enlarge and reading the associated text as you progress and answer the
following questions.
Wastewater Treatment: Sequence of Events: Put the steps in the wastewater treatment process listed below in the right order.

1.

Order

Step in the Wastewater Treatment Process

Air is mixed vigorously into tanks with wastewater effluent

Chlorine or bleach is added to the wastewater effluent

Sand and grit are removed from the wastewater effluent

Bacteria are settled out of wastewater effluent

Oils ad greases float to the surface of wastewater effluent

Anything you flush down the toilet will eventually show up at the wastewater treatment plant. Lets say you accidentally
drop a small towel down the toilet. What device is likely to catch the towel at the plant, and what would be its ultimate
destination if this occurred at the Blue Plains plant? - The Screen Filter

Name: Savion Young Date: 12/3/16 Class Pd: 4

2.

Why is the wastewater effluent treated with chlorine, bleach, or ultraviolet light after secondary treatment? -

Wastewater effluent is treated with chlorine, bleach, or ultraviolet light after secondary
treatment for disinfection.

3.

Describe how the organic solids collected in the wastewater treatment plant are processed after collection, and list their
final destinations at the profiled plant. - Organic solids are collected by the screens. Their final

destination is the land fill of incinerator.

4.

Both nitrogen and phosphorus can occur in large concentrations in wastewater effluent. Why is this a potential problem?
Describe, the approaches taken at the Blue Plains plant to deal with nitrogen and phosphorus removal prior to the release
of the effluent into the environment. They add SO2 to remove chlorine and the nitrogen and

phosphorus. The water needs to be clean and fit for water life.