Wastewater Treatment

Quiz Answers

1.
Name the 3 steps of the wastewater
treatment plan.

1. Primary (sedimentation/flotation)
2. Secondary (biological)
3. Advanced

2.
What is the purpose of the primary
treatment step?
Remove things that float and sink

3.
What is the purpose of the secondary
step?
Eat food and ammonia

4.
What is the purpose of the advanced
treatment step?
Filter(purify) & disinfect(clean)

5.
Which step is this? What is the
name? Advanced treatment/Filter/
Step #3

6.
Which step is this? What is the
name? Primary/Flotation &
Sedimentation

7.
Which step is this? What is the
name? Secondary/Biological/Aeration

8.
What is the path of wastewater,
starting from our homes?
Pipes Wastewater facility/Treatment
Plant LA River/River Long
Beach/Ocean

9.
Why is important to not flush down
toxic chemicals like drano down the
toilet?
Doesnt hurt microorganisms

10.
What are the 4 tests that a
wastewater treatment plant does on
the water at various steps of he
process?
pH
Ammonia
COD (Chemical Oxygen Demand)
Turbidity

11.
Explain what the pH test is used for
Measure acidity/basicity
Measure acid or base

12.
The pH scale goes from ___0 or_1_ to
___14___. The most acidic being the
__lower__ numbers.

13.
Why is it important to maintain a
wastewater pH between 6.6-8.5?
Doesnt hurt the microorganisms

14.
Explain what the purpose of the
ammonia test is
Measure ammonia levels

15.
What is the main source of ammonia
in our wastewater?
Urine/Pee/Urea

16.
Name the 2 reasons that ammonia is
bad
1. Toxic
2. Oxygen goes down when bacteria
eat it

17.
What is the process of bacteria
eating the ammonia and turning it
into a nitrate called?

Nitrification

18.
Why do we need to dilute the
wastewater sample by 50% before
using the ammonia test?
Because the Ammonia test only tests
between 0-6
What do you need to do afterwards to
account for the 50% dilution?
Multiply by 2 at the end

19.
Explain what the turbidity test is
used for
How clear/murky/dirty/cloudy the
water is or
How much sediment/suspended
particles in water

20.
Why is turbidity bad for fish?
Prevents them from absorbing oxygen
through gills by blocking their gills

21.
What instrument do we use to
measure turbidity?
Colorimeter

22.
Why do we cover the colorimeter
when reading the blank and sample?
To prevent light from entering the
source/sample

23.
Why do we need to blank the
colorimeter before using?
So colorimeter knows what zero is
To clear the colorimeter

24.
Explain what the Chemical Oxygen
Demand test is used for
To test how much oxygen in water
Measure how much dissolved oxygen

25.
Explain the cause and effect of
eutrophication.
Cause: Food and ammonia in water
Effect: Dead zones (no oxygen)

26.
What are the measuring units of pH,
ammonia levels and turbidity?
pH: None
Ammonia: mg/L
Turbidity: FAUs

27.
A pH of 5 is acidic/basic?

28.
Does coffee increase or decrease the
turbidity?

29.
Between the original wastewater and
after primary treatment, what
happened to
the pH? Stayed same
The turbidity? Increased, because things
dissolved
Ammonia level? Stayed same
If changed, explain why.

30.
Between the primary treatment and
after secondary treatment, what
happened to
the pH? same
The turbidity? Increased, because
organisms populated
Ammonia level? Decreased,
microorganisms ate it
If changed, explain why.

31.
Between the secondary treatment
and after advanced treatment, what
happened to
the pH? same
The turbidity? Decreased, filtered it
Ammonia level? Decreased,
microoganisms ate
If changed, explain why.

32.
What kind of organisms were found
in the activated sludge?
Pathogens
Viruses
Bacteria
Protozoa
Microorganisms
Fungi Algae
Microbes

33.
Why was it important to maintain
oxygen levels during the secondary
treatment?
Microorganisms dont die while eating
food and ammonia
Maintain constant oxygen level
Microroganisms continue to clean
water

34.
What is the difference between
aerobic and anaerobic bacteria?
What kind of bacteria are in the
sludge?
Aerobic- need oxygen
Anaerobic- doesnt need oxygen
Sludge= Aerobic

35.
What is the purpose of Aluminum
Sulfate?
Make solids sink
More sedimentation

36.
Advanced treatment involves the
following 2 steps:
1.Filtration
2. Disinfection (chlorination/UV)

37.
What does the wastewater facility
use to disinfect water? (2 options)
1. Chlorination
2. UV Radiation

38.
How does the plant remove chlorine
from the water?
Dechlorination