Water Purification and

Wastewater Treatment
 Water Purification
• Screening
• Chlorination, fluoridation
• Chemical application
– Aluminum sulfate (“alum”)
• Coagulation
– Activated charcoal
• Removes objectionable tastes and odors
 Water Purification
• Mixing Basins
– Alum chemically reacts to form “floc”
• Gelatinous particles
– Water in mixing basins is stirred
• Promotes collisions betwen floc particles
– Floc particles grow in size
• Entrain bacteria and sediment
 Water Purification
• Settling Basins
– Flocculated material settles out and is
piped to wastewater treatment plant
• Sand Filters
– Hydrated lime added to minimize
corrosion
– Polishing operation
 Water Purification
• Temporary storage in clear wells
• Filtered-water reservoir
– Chlorination
– Caustic soda to minimize corrosiveness
of polished water
– Gravity flow to pumping stations
 Wastewater Treatment
• Septic Tanks
– Bacteria in sewage degrade organic
matter
– Tank buried in ground to treat sewage
from an individual home
– Wastewater flows into tank
Septic Tank System
 Wastewater Treatment
• Septic Tanks
– Solid material (“sludge”) settles to
bottom of tank
– Cleaner water flows out of tank into
ground through subsurface drains
 Wastewater Treatment
• Lagoons (Stabilization Ponds)
– 3-5’ deep
– Sunlight, algae, oxygen interact to clean
wastewater
 Wastewater Treatment
• Conventional Sewage Treatment
– Processes
• Collection
• Treatment
 Wastewater Treatment
• Conventional Sewage Treatment
– Processes
• Collection
– Sewers
• Combined
• Separate
Stormwater and Sanitary Sewer System
 Wastewater Treatment
• Conventional Sewage Treatment
– Processes
• Collection
– Combined Sewers
• Carry stormwater and wastewater
– Separated Sewers
• Sanitary Sewers
• Storm Sewers
 Wastewater Treatment
• Conventional Sewage Treatment
– Processes
• Collection
– Household sewer
– Lateral sewer
– Main sewers
– Interceptors
– Wastewater treatment plant
 Wastewater Treatment
• Conventional Sewage Treatment
– Processes
• Collection
– High rainfall events
• Some wastewater may be diverted to
receiving streams
 Wastewater Treatment
• Conventional Sewage Treatment
– Processes
• Treatment
– Function
• To speed up natural processes by which
water purifies itself
• DO is the key!
 Wastewater Treatment
• Conventional Sewage Treatment
– Processes
• Treatment
– Processes
• Primary
• Secondary
• Advanced
The Wastewater Treatment Process
 Wastewater Treatment
• Conventional Sewage Treatment
– Processes
• Primary Treatment
– Mechanical process
• Screening
• Grinding
• Grit Chamber (heavy particles - “grit”)
• Sedimentation Tank (suspended solids -
“sludge”)
• Chlorination of effluent
 Wastewater Treatment
• Conventional Sewage Treatment
– Processes
• Secondary Treatment
– Biological process
• Uses bacteria to removed ODW and lower
BOD
– Types
• Trickling Filter
• Activated Sludge
 Wastewater Treatment
• Conventional Sewage Treatment
– Processes
• Secondary Treatment With Trickling Filters
– Effluent leaves sedimentation tank and flows
through trickling filters
• Bed of stones 3-10’ deep through which
sewage passes
• Bacteria gather on stones and multiply,
consuming ODW
• Cleaner water trickles through pipes at bottom
of filter for additional treatment
 Wastewater Treatment
• Conventional Sewage Treatment
– Processes
• Secondary Treatment With Activated Sludge
– Effluent leaves sedimentation tank and is pumped
to an aeration tank
– Effluent is mixed with air and sludge loaded with
bacteria (“activated sludge”)
– Sludge contacts with raw sewage, and bacteria in
the sludge then decompose the raw sewage,
lowering ODW and BOD
 Wastewater Treatment
• Conventional Sewage Treatment
– Processes
• Secondary Treatment With Activated Sludge
– Activated sludge-sewage mixture is called mixed
liquor
– Mixed liquor leaves aeration tank and flows to
another sedimentation tank where suspended
solids settle out for reuse as activated sludge
– Effluent is chlorinated
– Activated sludge in sedimentation tank is reused
 Wastewater Treatment
• Conventional Sewage Treatment
– Processes
• Advanced (Tertiary) Wastewater Treatment
– Physical and chemical processes that specific
pollutants left in wastewater after primary and
secondary treatment
– Extremely costly!
• It cost twice as much to build a tertiary
treatment plant compared to a secondary
treatment plant
 Wastewater Treatment
• Conventional Sewage Treatment
– Processes
• Advanced (Tertiary) Wastewater Treatment
– Processes
• Bleaching to remove coloration
• Disinfection to kill pathogens
• Coagulation-sedimentation with alum
• Adsorption using activated charcoal
• Electrodialysis for salt removal
 Wastewater Treatment
• Conventional Sewage Treatment
– Processes
• Sludge Disposal
– Landfills
– Incineration
– Land application
– Anaerobic digestion
 Wastewater Treatment
• Water Quality Protection
– Federal Laws
• Clean Water Act (1977)
• Water Quality Act (1987)
• U.S. Safe Drinking Water Act (1974)
 Wastewater Treatment
• Water Quality Protection
– Clean Water Act
• To restore and/or maintain the chemical,
physical, and biological integrity of the
nation’s surface waters
 Wastewater Treatment
• Water Quality Protection
– Safe Drinking Water Act
• Required USEPA to establish drinking water
standards (“Maximum Contaminant Levels”)
for any pollutant that MAY have adverse
effects on human health
• No MCLs established for some SOCs,
radioactive materials, toxic metals, and
ptahogens
 Wastewater Treatment
• Water Quality Protection
– Natural Resources Defense Council Study
• Drinking water of > 50 million Americans
exceeds one or more MCL standards
• Most people have not been notified when their
drinking water was contaminated
• Contaminated drinking water is responsible
for > 7 million ilnesses and 1200 deaths per
year
 Wastewater Treatment
• U.S. Water Quality Facts
– 44% of lakes, 37% rivers, 32% estuaries
still unsafe for fishing, swimming, other
recreational uses