WATER ENVIRONMENT

AND TREATMENT
MEASURED OF WATER
QUALITY
 DISSOLVED OXYGEN

 Dissolved oxygen is major determinant of water

quality in streams, lakes, and other watercourses.
Dissolved oxygen (DO) is measured with an oxygen
probe and meter. One of the simplest (and historically
oldest) meters operates as a galvanic cell, in which
lead and silver electrodes are put in an electrolyte
solution with a micro ammeter between.
 OXYGEN DEMAND

 Perhaps even more important than the determination

of dissolved oxygen is the measurement of the rate at
which this oxygen is used by microorganisms
decomposing organic matter. There are three types
of or methods to determine oxygen demand:
theoretical oxygen demand, biochemical oxygen
demand, and chemical oxygen demand.
 1. Theoretical oxygen Demand. The oxygen
demand for the of pure materials can be estimated
from stoichiometry, assuming that all the organic
material completely decomposes
 2. Biochemical Oxygen Demand. The rate of
oxygen use by these microorganisms is commonly
referred to as biochemical oxygen demand (BOD). BOD
is not a measure of some specific pollutant, but rather a
measure of the amount of oxygen required by aerobic
bacteria and other microorganisms to stabilize
decomposable organic matter.
 3. Chemical Oxygen Demand. The third method
for determining the oxygen demand of a water sample,
chemical oxygen demand (CoD), is a laboratory method
that essentially determines the ThOD
 SOLIDS
 The separation of solids from water is one of the
primary objectives of wastewater treatment.
Strictly speaking anything other than water or
gas is classified as solic which means that much of
the wastewater is actually solid The usual of
however is the residue evaporation at 103 oc (a
temperature higher than the boiling point of
water). These are known as total solids. Total
solids can be divided into two fractions: dissolved
solids (DS) and suspended solids (SS)
 NITROGEN

 Nitrogen can be tied up in high-energy compounds,

such as amino acids and amines, and in this form the
nitrogen is known as organic nitrogen. One of the
intermediate compounds formed during biological
metabolism is ammonia nitrogen. Together with
organic nitrogen, ammonia is considered an indicator
of recent pollution. These two forms of nitrogen are
often combined in one measure, known as Kjeldahl
nitrogen, named after the scientist who first
suggested the analytical procedure.
 BACTERIOLOGICAL
MEASUREMENTS
 . From a public health standpoint, the
bacteriological quality of water is as important
as the chemical quality. A number of diseases
can be transmitted by water, among them
typhoid and cholera. However, it is one thing
to declare that water must not be of
contaminated by pathogens (disease-causing
organisms and another to discover the
existence these organisms.
DRINKING WATER STANDARDS
 . Based on public health and epidemiological evidence and tempered by a healthy
dose of expediency, the national drinking water standards for many physical
chemical, and bacteriological contaminants have been established by the EPA
under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA The list of chemical standards is quite
long and includes the usual inorganics (lead, arse, ic, chromium, etc.) as well as
some organics (e.g., DDT). Bacteriological standards for drinking water are
written in terms of the coliform indicators. The normal standard is presently less
than 1 coliform per 100 mL of treated drinking water. One example of a physical
standard is turbidity, or the interference with the passage of light. A water that
has high turbidity is cloudy, a condition caused by the presence of colloidal solids.
Turbidity does not in itself cause a health problem, but the colloidal solids may
prove to be convenient vehicles for pathogenic organisms. Primary standards
specify maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) or treatment techniques. They are
set to protect public health and so are enforceable. Secondary standards, on the
other hand, are set to make the water more palatable and usable, reducing, for
example, unpleasant tastes and corrosivity. These standards are not enforceable.
Maximum contaminant level goals (McLGs) are also not enforceable but apply to
the primary contaminants. These goals are set at levels that present no known or
anticipated health effects. Therefore, they may be lower than McLs due to
technological or economic issues.
EFFLUENT STANDARDS
 The clean water Act (cwA) is used to reduce the flow of pollutants
into natural watercourses. All point source dischargers to natural
watercourses are required to obtain a National Pollution
Discharge Elimination System (NPDES). Businesses discharging to
a sever system rather than a natural watercourse are not required
to obtain an NPDES permiti however they must obtain permits
from the municipal treatment plants receiving the waste.
Although some detractors have labeled these "permits to
continue polluting," the permitting system has nevertheless had a
major beneficial effect on the quality of surface waters. Typical
effluent standards for a domestic wastewater treatment plant
range from 5 to 20 mg/L BOD, for example. The intent is to tighten
these limits as required to enhance water quality
SURFACE WATER QUALITY STANDARDS

 Tied to the effluent standards are surface water

standards, often called "stream standards." All surface
waters in the United States are classified according to a
system of standards based on their greatest beneficial
use. The highest classification usually reserved for
pristine waters, which are often used as sources of
water. The next highest classification includes waters
that have had wastes discharged into them but that
nevertheless exhibit high levels of quality. The
categories continue in order of decreasing quality, with
the lowest water quality useful only for irrigation and
transport.
 WATER SUPPLY

 As long as population densities are sufficiently low,

the ready availability of water for drinking and other
uses and the effective disposal of waterborne wastes
may not pose a serious problem.
THE HYDROLOGIC CYCLE AND
WATER AVAILABILITY
 This cycle includes the precipitation of water from clouds, infiltration into the ground or
runoff into surface watercourses, followed by evaporation transpiration of the water back
into the atmosphere. Precipitation is the term applied to all forms of moisture originating in
the atmosphere and falling to the ground (e.g., rain, sleet and snow). Precipitation is
measured with gauges that record in inches of water. The depth of precipitation over a given
region is often useful in estimating the availability of water Evaporation and transpiration are
the two ways water reenters the atmosphere. Evaporation is loss from free water surfaces
while transpiration is loss by plants. The same meteorological factors that influence
evaporation are at work in the transpiration process-solar radiation, ambient air
temperature, humidity, and wind speed, as well as the amount of soil moisture available to
the plants-all impact the rate of transpiration. Because evaporation and transpiration are so
difficult to measure separately, they are often combined into a single term,
evapotranspiration, or the total water loss to the atmosphere by both evaporation and
transpiration. Water on the surface of earth that is exposed to the atmosphere is called
surface water. Surface waters include rivers, lakes, oceans, etc. Through the process of
percolation, some surface water (especially during a precipitation event) seeps into the
ground and becomes groundwater. Both groundwater and surface water can be used a
sources of water for communities
GROUND WATER SUPPLY
 Groundwater is both an important direct source of water supply and a significant indirect
source of supply as a large portion of the flow to streams is derived from subsurface water.
Water exists both near and far below the soil surface. Near the surface earth soil pore spaces
contain both air and water. This zone is known as the zone of aeration, or vadose zone. It
may have zero thickness in swamplands and be several hundred feet thick in arid regions.
Moisture from the zone of aeration cannot be tapped as a water supply source because this
water is held to the soil particles by capillary forces and is not readily released. Below the
zone of aeration is the zone of saturation, in which the pores are filled with water. Water
within the zone of saturation is what is often referred to as groundwater. A stratum that
contains a substantial amount of groundwater is called an aquifer, and the surface of this
saturated layer is known as the water table. If the aquifer is underlain by an impervious
stratum, it is called an unconfined aquifer. If the stratum containing water is trapped
between two impervious layers, it is known as a confined aquifer. Confined aquifers can
sometimes be under pressure, just like pipes, and if a well is tapped into a confined aquifer
under pressure, an artesian well results. Sometimes the pressure is sufficient to allow these
artesian wells to flow freely without the necessity of pumping. The amount of water that can
be stored in the aquifer is equal to the volume of the void spaces between the soil grains.
The fraction of voids volume to total volume of the soil is termed porosity.
SURFACE WATER SUPPLIES
 Surface water supplies are not as reliable as groundwater sources because
quantities often fluctuate widely during the course of a year or even a week,
and the quality of surface water is easily degraded by various sources of
pollution. The variation in the river or stream flow be so great that even a
small demand cannot be met during dry periods, so storage facilities must be
constructed to hold the water during wet periods so it can be saved for the
dry ones. The objective is to build these reservoirs sufficiently large to have
dependable supplies. The greatest single threat to the global ecosystem is
the cancerous growth of the humar population. This trend somehow has to
be reversed if the human species has any hope of long-term survival. Yet out
of altruistic and cooperative motives, we help other humans in need. We
mount massive food supply efforts for starving people and use intemational
pressures to prevent wars of attrition. If we are truly competitive, then such
actions would make no sense, no more than one loblolly pine seedling
helping its neighbor. Both seedlings "know that only one will survive, and
each tries its best to be the taller and stronger of the two
 WATER TREATMENT

 Many aquifers and isolated surface waters are of high

water quality and may be pumped from the supply
and transmission network directly to any number of
end u including human consumption, irrigation,
industrial processes, and fire control. However, such
clean water sources are the exception to the rule,
particularly in regions with dense populations or
regions that are heavily the water supply must receive
varying degrees of treatment prior to distribution.
 SOFTENING

 Some waters (both surface waters and groundwaters) need

hardness removed to use them as a potable water source.
Hardness is caused by multivalent cations (or minerals)-such
as calcium, magnesium, and iron-that dissolve from soil and
rocks (particularly limestone). While hardness does not
cause health problems, it does reduce the effectiveness of
soaps and cause scale formation. Total hardness (TH) is
defined as the sum of the multivalent cations in the water.
Calcium (Ca2+) and magnesium (Mg2+) tend to be the
largest components of hardness, so TH is typically
approximated as the sum of these two components.
COAGULATION AND FLOCCULATION

 . Raw surface water entering a water treatment plant usually has significant turbidity caused by
tiny (colloidal clay and silt particles. These particles have a natural electrostatic charge that keeps
them continually in motion and prevents them from colliding and sticking together. Chemicals
known as coagulants, such as alum (aluminum sulfate), and coagulant aids, such as lime and
polymers, are added to the water (Stage 1 in Figure 19), first to neutralize the charge on the
particles and then to aid in making the tiny particles "sticky" so they can coalesce and form large,
quick-settling particles (Stage 2 in Figure 19). The purpose is to clear the water of the suspended
colloidal solids by building larger particles that readily settle. Coagulation is the chemical alteration
of the colloidal particles to make them stick together to form larger particles called flocs.
 Two mechanisms are thought to be important in the process of coagulation-charge neutralization
and bridging. Charge neutralization occurs when the ions) is used to counter charges on the
colloidal particles. The second mechanism is bridging, in the which the colloidal particles stick
together by virtue of the macromolecules formed by the coagulant.
 The assistance in the growth of larger particles is a physical process as flocculation. For particles
to come together and stick to each other, either through charge neutralization or bridging, they
have to move at different velocities. The intent of the process of flocculation is to produce
differential velocities within the water the particles can come into contact paddle that this is
accomplished in a water treatment plant by simply using a large slow-speed gently chemically
treated water.
 SETTLING
 When the flocs have been formed, they must be separated the water. This is invariably
done in gravity settling tanks that simply from to settle to the bottom. Settling tanks
are designed heavier-than-water particles the intent is to minimize all turbulence. The
two so as to approximate a plug-flow reactor. That is, and critical design elements of a
settling tank are the entrance exit configurations because this is where plug severely
compromised The sludge in water treatment plants is composed of aluminum calcium
and it is not highly biodegradable and will not decompose at the bottom of the tank.
Typically, the sludge is removed every few weeks through a mud valve on the tank
bottom and is wasted into a sewer or into a sludge holding/drying pond. Settling tanks
work because the density of the solids exceeds that of the liquid. The movement of a
solid particle through a fluid under the pull of gravity is governed by a number of
variables, including particle size (volume) particle shape particle density fluid density
fluid viscosity 
 In settling tanks it is advantageous to get particles to settle at the highest velocity. This
requires large particle volumes, compact shapes (low drag), high particle and low fluid
densities, and low fluid viscosity. In practical terms it is not feasible to control the last
two variables, but coagulation and flocculation certainly result in the growth of
particles and changes to their density and shape.
 FILTRATION
 In the discussion of groundwater quality, it was noted that the movement of water through soil
removes many of the contaminants in water. Environmental engineers have learned to apply this natural
process to water treatment systems and developed what is now known as the rapid sand filter. The
operation of a rapid sand filter involves two phases: filtration and washing. A slightly simplified version
of the rapid sand filter is illustrated in a cut-away drawing in Figure 20. Water from the settling basins
enters the filter and seeps through the sand and gravel bed, through a false floor, and out into a clear
well that stores the finished water. During filtration, valves A and Care open. Sometimes anthracite, a
type of carbon, is also used in the filter bed; it can remove dissolved organic materials.

 The suspended solids that escape the flocculation and settling steps are caught on the filter sand
particles and eventually the rapid sand filter becomes clogged, resulting in greater head loss through
the filter, so it must be cleaned. This cleaning is performed hydraulically by a process called
backwashing. The operator first shuts off the flow of water to the filter (closing valves A and C) and then
opens valves D and B, which allow wash water (clean water stored in an elevated tank or pumped from
the clear wel) to enter below the filter bed. This rush of water forces the sand and gravel bed to expand
(fluidize) and jolts individual sand particles into motion, rubbing them against their neighbors. The
suspended solids trapped within the filter are released and escape with the wash water. After at least 15
min, the wash water is shut off and filtration is resumed. Treatment plants want to minimize the
frequency of backwa hing because it uses energy and a significant amount of water, the product of the
treatment plant. In addition, this water may require treatment prior to discharge.
 DISINFECTION
 The water is disinfected to destroy whatever pathogenic organisms might
remain. Pre-chlorination may be done before filtration to help keep the
filters free of growth and provide adequate contact time with the
disinfectant. Adequate disinfection is a balance between the concentration
of the disinfectant (C) and the contact time T), an analysis known as the CT-
concept. Commonly, disinfection is accomplished by using chlorine, which is
purchased as a liquid under pressure and released into the water as chlorine
gas using a chlorine feeder system. When chlorine is added to water, it
forms hypochlorous acid (Hoc), which is a weak acid that dissociates to the
hypochlorite ion (OCI-) above pH 6. These two species are defined as free
available chlorine. When ammonia or organic nitrogen compounds are
present, HOCI will react with them to form chloramines. Chloramines are
defined as combined available chlorine. They are weaker disinfectants than
free available chlorine but are more stable
 
OTHER TREATMENT PROCESSES
 In addition to the treatment processes already discussed, there are
other steps that may or may not have to be taken before the water is
distributed. For example, water must be stable before it enters the
distribution system. Stable water is in chemical balance and will not
cause corrosion or scaling in the distribution system. Two tests are
used to determine the stability of water-the Marble Test and the
Langelier Index. Both tests indicate the calcium carbonate saturation
level of water. Water is considered stable when it is saturated with
calcium carbonate. Depending on the cause of the stability problem,
unstable water can be stabilized by using re-carbonation, acid
addition, phosphate addition, alkali addition, or aeration. Unstable
water from reactions in the distribution system (for example,
bacterial decomposition of organic matter and reduction of sulfates
to sulfides) can be prevented by providing a suitable chlorine
residual throughout the distribution system.
 WASTEWATER AND WASTEWATER
TREATMENT
 Wastewater is discharged from home commercial establishments, and industrial plants by
means of sanitary sewers, usually large pipes flowing partially (not under flow by gravity
drainage downhill, and the system or sewers has to be so designed that the collecting sewers,
which collect the wastewater from homes and industries, all converge to a central point where
the waste flows by trunk sewers to the wastewater treatment plant. Sometimes it is
impossible or impractical to install all gravity sewers, so the waste has to be pumped by
pumping stations through force mains, or pressurized.
Design and operation of sewers is complicated by the inflow of stormwater, which is supposed
to flow off in separate storm sewers in newer communities but often seeps into the
wastewater sewers through loose manhole covers and broken lines. Such an additional flow to
the wastewater sewers is called inflow. (Older communities often have combined sewers, they
were designed to collect and transport both sanitary wastewater and stormwater. They
frequently nave problems with combined sewer overflows (CSOs) during rain events.) Further,
sewers often have to be installed below the groundwater table, so any breaks or cracks in the
sewer (such as from the roots of trees seeking water) can result in water seeping into the
sewers. This additional flow is known as infiltration. Local communities often spend
considerable time and expense in rehabilitating sewerage systems to prevent such inflow and
infiltration (lll) because every gallon that enters the sewerage system has to be treated at the
wastewater treatment plant.
 Although water can be polluted by many materials, the most common contaminants
found in domestic wastewater that can cause damage to natural watercourses or create
human health problems are:

organic materials, as measured by the demand for oxygen (BOD)

nitrogen

phosphorus (P)

suspended solids (SS)

pathogenic organisms (as estimated by coliforms)

 
 Municipal wastewater treatment plants are designed to remove these objectionable
characteristics from the influent. The designs vary considerably but often take a general
form as shown in Figure 21 on the next page. The typical wastewater treatment plant is
divided into five main areas: -preliminary treatment-removal of large solids to prevent
damage to the remainder of the unit operations -primary treatment-removal of
suspended solids by settling -secondary treatment-removal of the demand for oxygen
-tertiary(or advanced) treatment a name applied to any number of polishing or cleanup
processes, one of which is the removal of nutrients such as phosphorus -solids
treatment and disposal- the collection, stabilization, and subsequent disposal of the
solids removed by other processes
 Primary treatment systems are usually physical
processes. Secondary treatment processes are
commonly biological. Tertiary treatment systems can
be physical (e.g., filtration to remove solids),
biological (e.g., constructed wetlands to remove
BoD), or chemical (e.g., precipitation to remove
phosphorus) A range of wastewater characteristics
can be analyzed to provide information pertinent to
the design and operation of treatment plants (Table
3). Seven principal components, however, are oi
concern in the design and operation of treatment
systems-total suspended solids (TSS), BOD,
pathogens, total dissolved solids TDS), heavy metals,
nutrients, and priority organic pollutants.