Water Treatment Plants

General Concepts

Katen Mistry
07 April 2016

Contents

Defined

Sources and storing

Pre-treatment

Coagulation

Flocculation

Sedimentation

Filtration

Chlorination

More

07 April 2016

What is water treatment?

Defined
Water treatment is defined as:
The process of reduction or removal of
impurities from water to acceptable
concentrations suitable for a stated usage.
Types of Impurities in water

Dissolved solids (organic and

inorganic)

Suspended solids (organic and

inorganic)

Colloidal solids (organic and inorganic)

07 April 2016

Collecting Water
Sources

Water taken/diverted from the natural

water cycle.

Rain water funnelled into canals or

reservoirs.

Water taken directly from the sea.

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Storing Water
Pre-treatment

Most water is stored in reservoirs.

A small portion is stored in water tanks.

Cleaning starts here as large particles

settle.

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Screening
Pre-treatment

Primary screening of water happens

first.

Large items like leaves are removed.

During screening, things as strange as

dead cows have been found.

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Removing Particles
Coagulation
In coagulation, we add a chemical such
as alum which produces positive charges
to neutralize the negative charges on the
particles. Then the particles can stick
together, forming larger particles which are
more easily removed.
The coagulation process involves the
addition of the chemical (e.g. alum) and
then a rapid mixing to dissolve the
chemical and distribute it evenly
throughout the water.

07 April 2016

Removing Particles
Flocculation
Now that the particles have a neutral
charge and can stick together. The water
flows into a tank with paddles that provide
slow mixing and bring the small particles
together to form larger particles called
flocs. Mixing is done quite slowly and
gently in the flocculation step. If the mixing
is too fast, the flocs will break apart into
small particles that are difficult to remove
by sedimentation or filtration.

07 April 2016

Removing Particles
Sedimentation
Next, the water flows to a tank called a
sedimentation basin where gravity causes
the flocs to settle to the bottom. Large
particles settle more rapidly than small
particles. It would take a very long time for
ALL of the particles to settle out and that
would mean we would need a VERY large
sedimentation basin. So the clarified water,
with most of the particles removed, moves
on to the filtration step where the finer
particles are removed.

07 April 2016

Removing Particles
Filtration
The filtration apparatus is a concrete box
which contains sand (which does the filtering),
gravel (which keeps the sand from getting
out) and an underdrain (where the filtered
water exits). After the filter is operated for a
while, the sand becomes clogged with
particles and must be backwashed. Flow
through the filter is reversed and the sand
and particles are suspended. The particles
are lighter than the sand, so they rise up and
are flushed from the system. When
backwashing is complete, the sand settles
down onto the gravel, flow is reversed and the
process begins again.

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07 April 2016

Disinfection
Chlorination
With particles removed, it only remains to
provide disinfection so that no pathogens
remain in the water. Protozoan pathogens
are large in size and have been removed
with other particles. Bacteria and viruses
are now destroyed by addition of a
disinfectant, chlorine (the same chemical
present in bleach). Enough chlorine is
added so that some remains to go out in
the water distribution system, protecting
the public once the water leaves the plant.

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07 April 2016

And More . . .
Optional treatments

Activated Carbon Treatment Organic

matter that causes discolouration and
Synthetic Organic Compounds (SOCs).

Ion exchange Softens water using

resin with sodium ions. Magnesium and
Calcium ions replace the sodium ions.

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THANKS FOR LISTENING

Any Questions?

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