WASTEWATER

Introduction to wastewater

During the natural cycle of water, from the mountaintops down into the oceans, humans capture and divert
a lot of the water for agriculture, industrial and municipal use. After the water is used, it is returned to the
environment in a different condition, usually as dirty water (wastewater). Depending on where you live, dirty
water can be thrown away into gutters, on the land, on flowers and grasses, down into the kitchen drains,
bathroom drains or flushed down the toilets. It is never returned in the same way that it was withdrawn.

What is wastewater?
Wastewater refers to all effluent from household, commercial establishments and institutions, hospitals,
industries and so on. It also includes stormwater and urban runoff, agricultural, horticultural and aquaculture
effluent.
 Effluent refers to the sewage or liquid waste that is discharged into water bodies either from direct
sources or from treatment plants.
 In simple terms, wastewater is all the dirty water from municipal sources (poop, urine and faecal sludge

Types of wastewater
1) Blackwater
-- This is wastewater that originates from toilet fixtures, dishwashers, and food preparation sinks.
-- It is made up of all the things that you can imagine going down the toilets, bath and sink drains.
2) Graywater
-- This is wastewater that originates from non-toilet and food fixtures such as bathroom sinks,
laundry machines, spas, bathtubs and so on.
--Technically it is sewage that does not contain poop or urine.
-- Graywater is treated very differently from Blackwater and is usually suitable for re-use.
3) Yellow water
-- This is basically urine collected with specific channels and not contaminated with either
blackwater or graywater.

SOURCES OF WASTEWATER

1) Domestic Sewage
This includes all wastewater generated by home dwellings, public restrooms, hotels, restaurants,
motels, resorts, schools, places of worship, sports stadiums, hospitals and other health centers,
apartments and the like. They all produce high volumes of wastewater.
2) Non-sewage
-- These include water from floods (stormwater), runoff (rainwater running through cracks in the
ground and into gutters), water from swimming pools, water from car garages and cleaning centers.
They also include laundromats, beauty salons, commercial kitchens, energy generation plants and so
on.
-- Wastewater is also generated from agricultural facilities. Water used for cleaning in animal farms,
washing harvested produce and cleaning farm equipment.

EFFECT OF WASTEWATER
either treated or partly treated can be classified in the following:
 1) Water pollution:
Fresh water bodies and marine waters into which wastewater is discharged may be polluted and
rendered unsafe for human use. Depending on what is discharged, aquatic life may be harmed too.

2) Water security:
There is water scarcity in many places in the world. Wastewater discharged on lands can leach into
underground water tables and potentially contaminate aquifers and underground water. If discharged in
freshwater bodies, it may render water sources unsuitable for use.

3) Ecosystem services:
All ecosystems are connected and they all ultimately depend on water. Similarly, all water (surface and
underground) is connected. One common effect of wastewater is the eutrophication of fresh water
bodies and oceans. If one part of the ecosystem chain is destroyed, it can upset its entire food chain.

4) Agriculture / Fisheries / Tourism:

Wastewater for irrigation may contain unsuitable chemicals and higher concentrations of nutrients
needed for crops. This can result in delayed and under yielding. Wastewater used for animal farming
may also contain harmful things and chemicals dissolved in them. Animals may die, and there is a
chance that humans that eat such animals may be harmed too

5) Health of urban and rural populations:

Wastewater is a big health issue, as it carries and transports a myriad of diseases and illnesses. It is
believed that about 2.2 million people die each year (globally) from diarrhoeal disease. (WHO) At least
1.8 million children under five years die every year due to water related disease, or one every 20 seconds
(WHO, 2008).

MANAGEMENT OF WASTEWATER
Smart wastewaster management is key to poverty reduction. It will sustain ecosystem services; improve
food security, health and ultimately the economy.
Good wastewater management efforts will enforce existing policies and introduce new and relevant
policies, funding, legislation, encourage voluntary agreements, engage private and public sectors and expand
education on the issue.

These five areas must be emphasized:

1. Preventive practices:
Laws, policies and advocacy should be designed to encourage all stakeholders to reduce the generation
of wastewater. This will reduce the volume of wastewater that we have to eventually deal with.

2. Capture the wastewater immediately:

This part will involve significant investment, but the long-term benefits will be worth it. It may involve
laying different underground pipes to carry different types of wastewater.

3. Treatment:
In many rural dwellings all over the world, the sun, vegetation, soils and bacteria are able to take care of
wastewater naturally if discharged into the environment with little or no treatment. urban centers the
amounts of wastewater produced is staggering and simply impossible for nature to take care of. This is
why we need to treat wastewater using appropriate and relevant technology before discharging into the
environment.
 4. Recycle and re-use water:
This involves the use of physical, biological and chemical principles to remove contaminants from
wastewater. The type of wastewater will determine the kind of principle to apply. Water recycle, reuse
and reclaim are often used to mean the same thing.

5. Education, Awareness, Advocacy and Stewardship:

Stakeholders should provide a friendly background for the development of new ideas and technologies
to managing the issue. Each person and all groups of people should be adequately informed about the
threat and the need to reduce wastewater and welcome the potential in managing them with socially and
culturally appropriate methods and technology.

LEVELS OF WASTWATER TREATMENT

1) Preliminary Wastewater Treatment - is the first step in wastewater treatment. It is to remove or to
reduce the coarse solids in wastewater, which may otherwise affect the normal operation of the
treatment system.
a) Screening - is the removal of coarse solids in wastewater which may cause wear or clogging
of equipment. It is the first unit operation encountered in wastewater treatment plants.
Screening Device : Racks and Screens
b) Comminution - is the grinding of coarse solids into smaller and more uniform size, which are
then returned back to the flow stream for subsequent treatment. This can prevent clogging of
equipment whilst avoiding the need for handling screenings.
c) Flotation - Flotation is the separation of suspended and floatable solid particles from
wastewater. This is achieved by introducing fine air bubbles into the wastewater.
d) Grit Removal - is the process by which grit (sand, gravels, etc) in the untreated wastewater is
removed in a grit removal chamber. This minimizes the solid deposition along the pipelines and
flow channels.

2) Secondary Wastewater Treatment - also known as biological treatment, consists of a wide range
of attached-growth and suspended-growth biological systems, which are mainly designed to remove
organic matter and suspended solids
a) Activated Sludge - the dispersed-growth reactor is an aeration tank or basin containing a
suspension of the wastewater and microorganisms, the mixed liquor. A portion of the
biological sludge is recycled to the aeration basin to maintain a high mixed-liquor suspended
solids (MLSS) level. The remainder is removed from the process and sent to sludge
processing to maintain a relatively constant concentration of microorganisms in the system.
Several variations of the basic activated sludge process, such as extended aeration and
oxidation ditches, are in common use, but the principles are similar.
b) Trickling Filters - or biofilter consists of a basin or tower filled with support media such as
stones, plastic shapes, or wooden slats. Wastewater is applied intermittently, or sometimes
continuously, over the media.
c) Rotating Biological Contactors- are fixed-film reactors similar to biofilters in that
organisms are attached to support media. In the case of the RBC, the support media are
slowly rotating discs that are partially submerged in flowing wastewater in the reactor.

3) Tertiary Treatment Method - is used for the removal of dissolved and suspended materials
remaining after normal biological treatment when required for water reuse or for the control of
eutrophication in receiving water.
 Chemical precipitation in water and wastewater treatment is the change in form of materials
dissolved in water into solid particles. Chemical precipitation is used to remove ionic
constituents from water by the addition of counter-ions to reduce the solubility.
 Chlorination is by far the most common method of wastewater disinfection and is used
worldwide for the disinfection of pathogens before discharge into receiving streams, rivers or
oceans.(11-14) Chlorine is known to be effective in destroying a variety of bacteria, viruses
and protozoa, including Salmonella, Shigella and Vibrio cholera.