Thursday, March 28, 2024
Environmental Management

On-site Municipal Wastewaters Treatment

Many of our daily chores such as bathing, doing laundry, flushing toilets, repairing meals, washing dishes and other activities generate wastewater. Few people give thought to where wastewater goes after it disappears down the drain.

Domestic wastewater (i.e. sewage) must be properly treated because it contains excessive nutrients, harmful bacteria/viruses and household chemicals that may contaminate the land and waters of our state and threaten public health.

Read Also : Wastewater Treatment Options

In the developed countries, the technology and the resources available are often adequate to properly treat their wastewaters; you may need to think of this and search for cities that have witnessed breakdown of their municipal treatment plants of recent.

Wastewater Treatment Objectives

The basic objectives of wastewater treatment include the followings:

Remove sediments

Remove organic matter (BOD)

Remove nutrients (N and P)

Remove or inactivate pathogens

On-site Municipal Wastewaters Treatment

The objectives vary with level. Table 13 below shows the specific objective of water treatment at different levels.

Table 13: Levels of Water Treatment and their Objectives

LevelObjective
Pre-treatmentRemove sand, grit and large objects
PrimaryRemove suspended particles by sedimentation. Remove BOD, N, P and pathogens
SecondaryRemove dissolved solids, BOD, N and P by biological degradation (use of bacteria)
TertiaryAdditional treatment, specific to situations (e.g. nutrients, organics and colloids)
DisinfectionRemove inactive pathogens

Operations of a Wastewater Treatment Plant

Wastewater is about 99 percent water by weight and is generally referred to as influent as it enters the wastewater treatment facility. “Domestic wastewater” is wastewater that comes primarily from individuals, and does not generally include industrial or agricultural wastewater.

At wastewater treatment plants, this flow is treated before it is allowed to be returned to the environment, lakes, or streams. There are no holidays for wastewater treatment, and most plants operate 24 hours a day.

Wastewater treatment plants operate at a critical point of the water cycle, helping nature defend water from excessive pollution. Most treatment plants have primary treatment (physical removal of floatable and settle able solids) and secondary treatment (the biological removal of dissolved solids).

On-Site Disposal and Treatment System

This is a system that requires that the municipal wastewater, commonly known as sewage is treated on the site. Each on-site sewage disposal system is designed for a specific site and a specific volume of wastewater. Each site is different and must be evaluated individually.

Site evaluation information includes: soil conditions, topography, lot size and location, estimated water usage, depth of the groundwater tables, seasonal high water tables, water-well locations (yours and your neighbours’), location of creeks, rivers, springs, ponds and lakes, or other factors that may affect the type of system you select.

It is possible that no system can be approved if adverse environmental and/or physical conditions exist on the site. Soil conditions are determined by conducting a soil percolation test or soil profile description.

WealthInWastes

Benadine Nonye is an agricultural consultant and a writer with over 12 years of professional experience in the agriculture industry. - National Diploma in Agricultural Technology - Bachelor's Degree in Agricultural Science - Master's Degree in Science Education... Visit My Websites On: 1. Agric4Profits.com - Your Comprehensive Practical Agricultural Knowledge and Farmer’s Guide Website! 2. WealthinWastes.com - For Effective Environmental Management through Proper Waste Management and Recycling Practices! Join Me On: Twitter: @benadinenonye - Instagram: benadinenonye - LinkedIn: benadinenonye - YouTube: Agric4Profits TV and WealthInWastes TV - Pinterest: BenadineNonye4u - Facebook: BenadineNonye

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

error

Enjoy this post? Please spread the word :)

Discover more from WealthInWastes

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading