GROUP 1: SEWERAGE AND WASTE WATER TREATMENT

ELEMENTS OF A MODERN WASTE WATER MANAGEMENT SYSTEM:

The individual sources of wastewater
Processing facilities at the source
Collection facilities
Transmission facilities
Treatment facilities
Disposal Facilities

QUANTITY OF WASTEWATER
Wastewaters that must be disposed of from a community include:
Domestic (also called sanitary) wastewater discharged from residences and from
commercial facilities
Industrial wastewater in which industrial wastes predominate
Infiltration inflow extraneous water that enters the sewer system through various
means
Stormwater resulting from precipitation runoff

ESTIMATION OF DOMESTIC WASTEWATER

The quantity of domestic wastewater from an area will generally be about
60% to 85% of the water supplied to the area. The remainder is used in industrial
processes, for lawn sprinkling, etc.
Estimates of water supply must include all water from private as well as
public sources. Industries often obtain water from their own wells but use public
sewers for waste disposal.

ESTIMATION OF IDUTRIAL WASTEWATER

Industrial flow will vary with the type and size of industry, the supervision of
the industry, the degree of water reuse, and the on-site treatment methods that are
used. An allowance of 5000 gal/ac.day (50 cubic meter/ ha.d) is often used.

ESTIMATION OF INFILTRATION/INFLOW
The amount of infiltration depends mostly on the groundwater level and the
care exercised in the in the construction of the sewer. If the groundwater table is
below the sewer, infiltration will occur only when the water is moving down through
the soil. If the water table is high, infiltration rates 300 to 1500 gal/ac.day of area
sewered may occur.

VARIATIONS IN WASTEWATER FLOW RATES

The flow of domestic and industrial wastewater varies throughout the day and
the year. The daily peak from a small residential area will usually occur around noon
or in the early evening hours and may vary from 200 to more than 500 percent of
the average flow rate, depending on the number of persons contributing.
 Commercial and industrial wastewater is delivered somewhat more uniformly
throughout the day, with the peak daily rates varying from 150 to 250 percent of the
average flow rate.
Because the variation in wastewater flows will change with the size of the
city, the amount of industrial wastewater, and the local conditions, the typical values
quoted in the preceding are only a guide.

WASTEWATER CHARACTERISTICS AND WATER QUALITY

The selection and design of treatment facilities is based on a study of:
The physical, chemical and biological characteristics of the wastewater
The quality that must be maintained in the environment to which the wastewater
is to be discharged
The applicable environmental standards or discharged requirements that must be
met

For clarity, the chemical characteristics of wastewater are considered in 2 classifications:

Inorganic
Organic

Further, because of their special importance, priority pollutant and volatiles organic
compounds (VOCs) are considered separately.

WASTEWATER CHARACTERISTICS
Wastewater contains the impurities added as a result of domestic, commercial
and industrial use. The analyses used to characterize the principal physical, chemical.
And biological impurities found in wastewater.

Characteristics:
PHYSICAL
CHEMICAL
INORGANIC CHEMICAL
ORGANIC CHEMICAL
BIOLOGICAL
PRIORITY POLLUTANTS
VOLATILE ORGANIC COMPOUNDS (VOCs)

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

Solid Contents
TOTAL SOLIDS
found in wastewater are consist of the insoluble or suspended solids and the
soluble compounds dissolved in the water
SUSPENDED SOLIDS
are found by drying and weighing the residue removed by filtering the
sample
VOLATILE SOLIDS
 are organic matter that are burned at high temperature
SETTLEABLE SOLIDS
(milliliters per liter) are solids that can be removed by sedimentation

Color
LIGHT BROWN COLOR
Wastewater is less that 6 hour old
LIGHT-TO-MEDIUM GREY COLOR
Wastewater that have undergone some decomposition or that have been in
the collection system
DARK GREY OR BLACK COLOR
The water is septic having undergone extensive bacterial decomposition
under anaerobic conditions

Odor
HYDROGEN SULFIDE
Principal odorous compound
Indol, skatol, cadaverin, and mercaptan
Are formed under anaerobic conditions that may cause odors that are more
offensive that hydrogen sulfide
ANAEROBIC CONDITION
Condition in absence of Oxygen

Temperature
COLD REGIONS
The temperature will vary from 45F to 65F (7C to 18C)
WARMER REGIONS
The temperature will vary from 55F to 75F (13C to 24C)

INORGANIC CHARACTERISTICS

Specific inorganic constituents are determined to assess the presence or absence of

priority pollutants and to determine if any potential treatment or disposal problems will
develop.
Some chemicals includes:
Nitrogen Phosphorus pH
Chloride Sulfate Alkalinity
 ORGANIC CHARACTERISTICS

Laboratory Methods used to measure gross amounts of organic matter in waste water
includes:
Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD)
Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD)
Total Organic Carbon (TOC)

PRIORITY POLLUTANTS

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has identified approximately 129 priority

pollutants in 65 classes
These pollutants were selected on the basis of their known or suspected
carcinogenicity, mutagenicity, teratogenicity, or high acute toxicity

TYPES OF STANDARDS USED TO CONTROL POLLUTANT DISCHAGES TO PUBLICLY

OWNED TREATMENT WORKS (POTWs)
Prohibited Discharge Standards
Categorical Discharge Standards

VOLATILE ORGANIC COMPOUNDS (VOCs)

These are organic compounds that have a boiling point of 100C and/or vapor
pressure >1 mmHg at 25C.
VOCs are in great concern because:
They are mobile
Significant public health risk
They can increase reactive hydrocarbons in the atmosphere

BIOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS

Biological treatment process rely on an accelerated natural cycle of decay, and the
objective of treatment plant design is generally to provide an environment favorable to
the action of the bacteria that stabilize the organic matter in the wastewater.