INTRODUCTION TO WASTEWATER.

1.1 BACKGROUND
Urbanization (the migration of people from villages to the urban areas); has given rise to a number
of environmental problems such as, water supply with desirable quality and quantity, wastewater
generation and its collection, treatment and disposal.
In urban areas for domestic and industrial uses the source of water is generally reservoir, river,
lake, and wells. Out of this total water supplied, generally 60 to 80% contributes to wastewater.
In most of the cities, wastewater is let out partially treated or untreated and it either percolates into
the ground and in turn contaminates the ground water or it is discharged into the natural drainage
system causing pollution in downstream water bodies.
The importance of water quality as a factor constraining water use has often gone unacknowledged
in the analyses of water scarcity. Water scarcity is a function not only of volumetric supply, but
also of quality sufficient to meet the demand. The drinking water demand is perhaps the largest
demand for high quality water apart from many industrial uses which also require high quality
water. Agriculture, by far the largest consumer of water, also suffers when water supplies become
saline. In Kenya water pollution comes from the main sources such as domestic sewage, industrial
effluents, leachates from landfills, and run-off from solid waste dumps and agriculture land.
In the past disposal of waste from water closets was carried out manually and wastewater generated
from kitchen and bathrooms was allowed to flow along the open drains. (Conservancy systems).
In conservancy sytems,the human and animal waste (feces and urine) are collected in pans from
lavatories and is then carried by labors in carts or lorries for disposal outside the city where it is
buried for manure. The human and animal waste are also called night-soil. he storm water is
conveyed separately by close and open channels and discharge into natural streams. This system
is obsolete now, though it can be used in rural areas where there is scarcity of water
This primitive method was modified and replaced by a water carriage system, in which these
wastes are mixed with sufficient quantity of water (water 99.9% solids 0.1%). This waste is carried
through closed conduits under the conditions of gravity flow. This mixture of water and waste
products is known as sewage.

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Table below gives comparison between the two systems.

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1.2 DEFINITIONS
Industrial wastewater: It is the wastewater generated from the industrial and commercial areas.
This wastewater contains objectionable organic and inorganic compounds that may not be
amenable to conventional treatment processes
Night Soil: It is a term used to indicate the human and animal excreta.
Sanitary sewage: Sewage originated from the residential buildings comes under this category.
This is very foul in nature. It is the wastewater generated from the lavatory basins, urinals and
water closets of residential buildings, office building, theatre and other institutions. It is also
referred as domestic wastewater.
Sewage: It indicates the liquid waste originating from the domestic uses of water. It includes
sullage (grey water), discharge from toilets, urinals, wastewater generated from commercial
establishments, institutions, industrial establishments and also the groundwater and stormwater
that may enter into the sewers. Its decomposition produces large quantities of malodorous gases,
and it contains numerous pathogenic or disease producing bacteria, along with high concentration
of organic matter and suspended solids.
Sewage Treatment Plant is a facility designed to receive the waste from domestic, commercial
and industrial sources and to remove materials that damage water quality and compromise public
health and safety when discharged into water receiving systems or land. It is combination of unit
operations and unit processes developed to treat the sewage to desirable standards to suit effluent
norms defined by regulating authority.
Sewer: It is an underground conduit or drain through which sewage is carried to a point of
discharge or disposal. There are three types of sewer systems that are commonly used for sewage
collection. Separate sewers are those which carry the house hold and industrial wastes only. Storm
water drains are those which carry rain water from the roofs and street surfaces. Combine sewers
are those which carry both sewage and storm water together in the same conduit.
Sewerage: The term sewerage refers the infrastructure that includes devices, equipment and
appurtenances for the collection, transportation and pumping of sewage, but excluding works for
the treatment of sewage. Basically it is a water carriage system designed and constructed for
collecting and carrying of sewage through sewers.
Stormwater: It indicates the rain water of the locality.
Subsoil water: Groundwater that enters into the sewers through leakages is called subsoil water.
Sullage: This refers to the wastewater generated from bathrooms, kitchens, washing place and
wash basins, etc. Composition of this waste does not involve higher concentration of organic
matter and it is less polluted water as compared to sewage.
Wastewater: The term wastewater includes both organic and inorganic constituents, in soluble or
suspended form, and mineral content of liquid waste carried through liquid media. Generally the

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organic portion of the wastewater undergoes biological decompositions and the mineral matter
may combine with water to form dissolved solids.

1.3 EFFECT OF UNTREATED WASTEWATER DISPOSAL

The daily activities of human beings produce both liquid and solid wastes. The liquid portion of
the wastewater is necessarily the water supplied by the authority or through private water sources,
after it has fouled by variety of uses. The sources of wastewater generation can be defined as a
combination of the liquid or water-carried wastes removed from residences, institutions, and
commercial and industrial establishments, together with groundwater, surface water, and storm
water as may be present.
If the untreated wastewater is allowed to accumulate, it will lead to highly unhygienic conditions.
The organic matter present in the wastewater will undergo decomposition with production of large
quantities of malodorous gases. If the wastewater is discharged without treatment in the water
body, this will result in the depletion of Dissolved Oxygen (DO) from the water bodies. Due to
depletion of DO, the survival of aquatic life will become difficult, finally leading to anaerobic
conditions in the receiving waters. The nutrients present in the wastewater can stimulate the growth
of aquatic plants, leading to problems like eutrophication.
In addition, the untreated domestic wastewater usually contains numerous pathogenic or disease
causing microorganisms, that dwell in the human intestinal tract or it may be present in certain
industrial wastewaters. Municipal wastewater may have inorganic substances or toxic organic
compounds with the concentration more than the discharge limits stipulated by the authorities.

1.4 WASTEWATER TREATMENT

The treatment and safe disposal of wastewater is necessary. This will facilitate protection of
environment and environmental conservation, because the wastewater collected from cities and
towns must ultimately be returned to receiving water body or to the land or reused to fulfill certain
needs. The sewage treatment plants constructed near the end of nineteenth century were designed
to remove suspended matter alone by the principal of simple gravity settling. It soon became
apparent that primary treatment alone was insufficient to protect the water quality of the receiving
water body. This was mainly due to the presence of organic material, in colloidal and dissolved
form, in the sewage after settling. Thus, in the beginning of twentieth century several treatment
systems, called secondary treatment, were developed with the objective of organic matter removal.
For this secondary treatment, biological methods are generally used. The aerobic biological
treatment processes were popularly used as a secondary treatment, and these processes are still at
the first choice.

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Primary treatment consists of screens (for removal of floating matter), grit chamber (for removal
of inorganic suspended solids) and primary sedimentation tank (for removal residual settleable
solids which are mostly organic). Skimming tanks may be used for removal of oils; however, in
conventional treatment plant no separate skimming tank is used and oil removal is achieved by
collecting the scum in primary sedimentation tank. This primary treatment alone will not produce
an effluent with an acceptable residual organic material concentration. Almost invariably
biological methods are used in the treatment systems to effect secondary treatment for removal of
organic material. In biological treatment systems, the organic material is metabolized by bacteria.
Depending upon the requirement for the final effluent quality, tertiary treatment methods and/or
pathogen removal may be included (disinfection).
Today majority of wastewater treatment plants uses aerobic metabolism for the removal of organic
matter. The popularly used aerobic processes are the activated sludge process, trickling filter, and
stabilization ponds. Stabilization ponds use both the aerobic and anaerobic mechanisms. In the
recent years, due to increase in power cost and subsequent increase in operation cost of aerobic
processes, more attention is being paid for the use of anaerobic treatment systems for the treatment
of wastewater including sewage.
Depending on the mode of disposal the tertiary treatment may be given for killing pathogens,
nutrient removal, suspended solids removal, etc. Generally secondary treatment followed by
disinfection will meet the effluent standards for disposal into water bodies. When the treated
sewage is disposed off on land for irrigation, the level of disinfection needs will depend on the
type of secondary treatment and type of crops with restricted or unrestricted public access.