Sewage and

Organic Wastes
TREN 3P14: Sustainable
Integrated Waste Management
David T. Brown

Water Pollutants
toxics

nutrients

anthropogenic
origin (e.g. industrial
effluent, municipal
sewage, tourism
operations)

suspended matter
pathogens
thermal pollution
dissolved gases natural origin (e.g.
silt, mineral nutrients,
wild animal wastes)

Significant concern in the tourism

industry

Water quality
Water quantity
Aesthetic
concerns
Disease and
pathogens
Local equity
issues

Controlling Water
Pollution
Upstream:

before the problem occurs

Downstream:
after the problem occurs

Upstream Methods of
Controlling Water Pollution
process modification in industry:

elimination of pollutants and toxics

avoidance of direct discharge into:
water bodies
storm sewers
sanitary sewers
identification of storm drains (e.g. Yellow
Fish Road project)

Upstream Methods of
Controlling Water Pollution

decoupling of storm and sanitary sewers

runoff control:
increasing absorptive surfaces
avoiding erosion
maintaining streambank and shoreline
vegetation

legislation and regulation: guidelines and

laws establishing limits on discharge

S
E
W
A
G
E

Neolithic revolution
small towns and settlements ->
human excreta control generally
non-problematic

S
E
W
A
G
E

In days of old
When knights were bold
And toilets werent invented
Theyd leave their loads
Upon the roads
And walk away contented.

S
E
W
A
G
E

Post - Neolithic revolution:

Large towns and cities ->
human waste control became a problem
high-density living required technologies for handling
human wastes in urban areas:
chamber pots and open gutters

pit privies / trench latrines/ outhouses

septic systems and variants

centralized sewage collection and treatment systems

"Our excreta--not
wastes, but misplaced
resources--end up
destroying food chains,
food supply and water
quality in rivers and
oceans....How did it
come to pass that we
devised such an
enormously wasteful
and expensive system
to solve a simple
problem?
- Sim van der

Downstream Methods of
Managing Sewage: Small
scale
Temporary /
short term:

packing it out
single-use holes
pit privies
trench latrines

Meyer, Kathleen. 1989.

How to shit in the woods :
an environmentally sound approach
to a lost art. Ten Speed Press, Berkeley, Calif.

Downstream Methods of
Managing Sewage: Small
scale
Long-term

outhouses
settling ponds
septic tanks
septic fields
composting toilets

van der Ryn, Sim. 1978 (republished and revised 1999).

The Toilet Papers: Recycling Waste and Conserving Water.
Chelsea Green Publishing, Vermont. Online edition
available at
www.brocku.ca/tren/courses/tren3p14/2006/ToiletPapers.

Tourism operations:

Tourism operations:

Tourism operations:

Land-based wastewater treatment: Surface spray

Land-based wastewater treatment: Overland flow

Land-based wastewater treatment:

Subsurface infiltration

Downstream Methods of
Sewage Treatment: Large
Scale

Downstream Methods of
Sewage Treatment
domestic sewage treatment:
preliminary: screening and removal of large
contaminants
primary: straining and settling of solids
secondary: removal of biodegradable organic
matter and nutrients
tertiary: removal of residual dissolved nutrients
and pollutants

Downstream Methods of
Sewage Treatment
effluent treatment processes:
mechanical: filtering, gravity separation
chemical: flocculation, coagulation
biological: microbes or macrophytes
aerobic or anaerobic
disinfection: chlorination, ozonation, etc.
(pathogen control)

Downstream Methods of
Sewage Treatment
physical plant/ engineered approach
(usually centralized, large scale)

constructed wetland approach (centralized or

decentralized, large or small scale)

Primary Sewage Treatment

GRIT
SETTLING CHLORINATION
BAR
TANK
TANK
SCREEN CHAMBER
outflow

Raw sewage
Sludge
SLUDGE
DIGESTER
SLUDGE
DRYING
BED

Secondary Sewage Treatment

GRIT
SETTLING AERATION SETTLING
BAR
TANK
TANK
TANK 2
SCREEN CHAMBER

Raw sewage

CHLORINATION
TANK
Methane

SLUDGE
DIGESTER

outflow

Air
pump

SLUDGE
DRYING
BED

Activated sludge

Constructed Wetland

Constructed Wetland

EXPERIMENTAL CELLS

S.W.A.M.P.
(SEWAGE WASTE AMENDMENT MARSH PROJECT)
Niagara on the Lake, Ontario

Constructed Wetland
EXPERIMENTAL CELLS

Constructed Wetland
macrophytes

Cattails and Water Hyacinth

Large scale
constructed wetland

Saha Pat Industrial Park, Laem Chabang, Thailand

Settling tank

Saha Pat Industrial Park, Laem Chabang, Thailand

Sludge dewatering
and drying

Saha Pat Industrial Park, Laem Chabang, Thailand

Aeration pond

Saha Pat Industrial Park, Laem Chabang, Thailand

Outflow into
constructed
wetland

Saha Pat Industrial Park, Laem Chabang, Thailand

Large scale
constructed wetland

Saha Pat Industrial Park, Laem Chabang, Thailand

Waterless toilet
technologies
Clivus Multrum
composting
toilet

converts

human and
organic wastes
into odourless
compost

Waterless toilet
technologies

Scalable
Waterless
Low energy
Suitable for remote
areas
Now CSA approved

Water and Legislation

multijurisdictional:
federal, provincial, and municipal areas of
responsibility
multifaceted:
laws and regulations deal with
conservation and management of water
resources; protection of aquatic life
pollution and liquid discharge
drinking water standards

Federal Water Legislation

(in areas of federal jurisdiction)

Canadian Environmental Protection Act

(CEPA) : regulates the release of specified toxic
substances, the concentration of nutrients in products
(e.g. nitrates, phosphates); national regulations for pulp
and paper mill effluents

Fisheries Act: forbids the depositing of deleterious

substances in any waters frequented by fish; regulates
aquatic toxicity testing; regulates pulp and paper mill
effluents and requires monitoring of effects on fish
habitat

Provincial Water
Legislation
Ontario Water Resources Act: Section 30(1)
prohibits the discharge of any material into any
water body, shoreline, or bank that may impair the
quality of the water

Environmental Protection Act (EPA) :

Subsection 14: prohibits discharge of any
contaminant into the natural environment that
causes or is likely to cause an adverse effect

Water Quality Guidelines, Policies, and Objectives:

cover water quality for many types of water uses and aquatic
environments (e.g. water storage structures, sewage plant
discharge, drinking water quality objectives and treatment
requirements, etc.)
legally enforceable when incorporated into a Certificate of
Approval or a Control Order

Banned and Phased-Out Chemicals:

primary and secondary lists of substances to be banned, phased
out, or reduced in use due to their persistence in water or aquatic
systems

 Drinking Water: Municipalities are

responsible for conforming to provincial water
quality and treatment guidelines for drinking
water from surface and ground sources

MISA
(Municipal, Industrial
Strategy for Abatement)

program aimed at the virtual elimination of persistent toxic

contaminants from all discharges into Ontario waterways

dealt with direct dischargers (into surface waters, e.g.

sewage treatment plants, certain industries) and indirect
dischargers (into municipal sewer systems).

Objectives:

identify and measure toxic substances in

discharges

increase emphasis on control technlogy

pollution prevention and reduction in multi-media
transfer of pollutants

strengthen abatement and enforcement

mechanisms -> eventual virtual elimination of

persistent toxic substances

 Municipal-Industrial Strategy for Abatement Advisory

Committee was eliminated by Harris government, and

MISA program severely weakened.

Avenues for both public input and multi-stakeholder

input to government decision-making were removed.

Starting in 1995, the Harris Government weakened or

revoked nearly every environmental protection law in
Ontario and numerous regulations under these laws.

 Every aspect of environmental protection was

affected, including controls on air pollution, water

pollution, pesticides, waste disposal and recycling,
urban sprawl, energy use and climate change, natural
heritage and biodiversity protection, mining, and
forestry.

DETAILS:
Canadian Environmental Law Association (http://www.cela.ca/):
Environmental Deregulation in Ontario - 1996-2000
http://62.44.8.131/coreprograms/detail.shtml?x=1780

Municipal Water Legislation

Discharges to Sewers: Municipal sewer use by-laws
regulate substances which can be discharged to sanitary,
combined, or storm sewers. Based on MOE Model Sewer
Use Bylaw.
In absence of municipal by-laws, the Ontario Clean Water
Agency regulated these parameters.
Harris Government Bill 107 promoted privatization of
municipal water and sewer infrastructure without voter
assent.
Budgets for monitoring and regulation were slashed.

Walkerton
E. Coli contamination of municipal water supply
from cattle manure results in hundreds of illnesses
and seven deaths, including two-year old child

Tragedy deemed preventable

Incompetent management by Koebel brothers
(managers of water supply), lack of adequate water
testing, excessive budget cutbacks and
deregulation all identified as factors in tragedy

Further Details:
The Walkerton Tragedy:
http://www.canoe.ca/EcoliTragedy/

Walkerton Flash presentation:

http://www.canoe.ca/EcoliTragedy/Walkerton.swf

Walkerton Inquiry report:

http://www.attorneygeneral.jus.gov.on.ca/english/about/pubs/walkerton/part1/

2002: Tory government introduced

Safe Drinking Water Act
Sustainable Water and Sewage
Systems Act
to guard against another water tragedy
like Walkerton
http://www.ene.gov.on.ca/envision/water/sdwa/index.htm

Act authorized the government to

implement key recommendations in
Walkerton inquiry report

 Acts criticized as inadequate, as source

contamination concerns not addressed

Tories defeated in 2003

Liberal government elected 2003
Introduced Clean Water Act (Dec 2005)

Clean Water Act

(received Royal Assent on October 19, 2006)

The Act ensures that communities are

able to identify potential risks to their
supply of drinking water, and take
action to reduce or eliminate these
risks.
Municipalities, conservation
authorities, landowners, farmers,
industry, community groups and the
public all work together to meet
common goals.

http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/DBLaws/Source/Statutes/English/2006

Other related Ontario government initiatives:

Watershed-based source
protection planning

Revision of

Permits To Take Water

Nutrient Management
Groundwater Studies