INTRODUCTION

Introduction

• Branch of public health engineering which deal with the prevention & maintenance of the
health of individual & the community. It
• Studies methodical collection, conveyance, treatment & disposal of waste water to land or
water bodies meeting the criteria of pollution load.

Major goals of sanitary engineering

• Protect the public health:

Waste water is nuisance, carries disease spreading pathogens, harmful toxic compounds, and heavy
metal. Proper collection, treatment and disposal of such waste are the major objective of sanitary
engineering.
• Protecting the environment:
Untreated waste water when discharged directly to receiving water or land body leads to the
deterioration of surface and groundwater quality and pollutes the soil.
• Reuse of treated waste water and solid:
Treated waste water that is free of harmful impurities can be used for agricultural, industrial and
ground water recharge. This helps in addressing growing concern water scarcity and water stress.
Similarly, the treated solid particles when treated and stabilized can be used as manure or filling
material.

Historical development of waste water and solid waste management

• The history of sanitation records back to the 26th century BC, in Iraq.
• Nepal achieved its one of the most important goals of being declared as an Open Defecation
Free (ODF) country in September 2019
• In 2011 Government of Nepal provided Sanitation and Hygiene Master Plan, a nationwide
guideline, with a target to declare ODF Nepal by 2017. The declaration of ODF in 2019 is
the result of combined cooperation and collaborative action of Nepal’s Government and
different donor organizations.
• The first sewers line in Nepal was constructed during RANA regime. In the heavily dense
urban setting, Nepal has adopted water carriage system, however in rural area the practice
is still conservancy system with septic tanks as treatment unit.
Definitions of common terms

• Sewage/Wastewater
The Liquid waste from a community is called sewage. It is a dilute mixture of the wastes of
various types from the residential, public and industrial places.

• Domestic sewage
It is the sewage obtained from the lavatory basins, urinals &water closets of houses, offices &
institutions. It is highly foul on account of night soil and urine contained in it. Night soil starts
putrefying & gives offensive smell. It may contain large number of bacteria due to the excremental
wastes of patients. This sewage requires great handling &disposal.

• Industrial sewage
It consists of spent water from industries and commercial areas. The degree of foulness depends
on the nature of the industry concerned and processes involved.

• Sanitary sewage
It is the sewage obtained from the residential buildings & industrial effluents establishments.
Being extremely foul it should be carried through underground conduits.

• Storm water
It is the surface runoff obtained during and after the rainfall which enters sewers through inlet.
Storm water is not foul as sewage and hence it can be carried in the open drains and can be
disposed off in the natural rivers without any difficulty.

• Sullage
It is the liquid discharge from the bath rooms, kitchens, wash basins etc., it does not include
discharge from the lavatories, hospitals, operation theatres, slaughter houses which has a high
organic matter. It indicates the waste water from the bathroom, kitchen (human excreta not mixed)

• Sewer
Sewers are underground pipes or conduits which carry the sewage to a point of disposal.

• Sewerage
The entire system of collecting, carrying & disposal of sewage through sewers is known as
sewerage. The entire system used for collection, treatment and disposal of Liquid waste. This
includes pipes, manholes, and all structures used for the above-mentioned purposes.

• Rubbish
It consists of sundry solid wastes from the residences, offices and other buildings. Broken furniture,
paper, rags etc., are included in this term. It is generally dry and combustible waste from office.
eg: Building broken material, broken furniture, paper etc.

• Garbage
It is a dry refuse i.e., solid semi-solid which includes waste product like waste papers, sweepings
from streets and markets, vegetable peelings etc. Garbage contains large amount of organic and
putrefying matter and therefore should be removed as quickly as possible. It indicates dry refuse
& it includes decayed fruit, grass, leaves, paper pieces, sweeping, vegetables etc.

• Refuse/solid waste
General term which includes all thee wastes or rejects left as worthless. It may be solid, semi-solid,
or liquid form. E.g., Garbage, rubbish, sullage, sewage.

STORM SEWAGE
SEWAGE
DOMESTIC SEWAGE
(WASTEWATER)
SANITARY SEWAGE
INDUSTRIAL
SULLAGE
REFUSE

SEWAGE

GARBAGE

RUBBISH

Importance of Wastewater and Solid Waste Management

Waste management is important as it:

• saves the environment from the toxic effects of inorganic and biodegradable element
present in waste.
• helps in reducing water contamination, soil erosion and air contamination.
• reduce foul smell
• reduce risk of communicable disease
• make the community clean, hygienic and safe from health hazards

When recyclable waste is not recycled, it usually ends up in landfills or water bodies posing
threat to human health and marine life.

Wastewater and Solid waste management methods - Collection, Conveyance, Treatment and
Disposal

• Collection
Collection of industrial, domestic wastewater is best achieved by a fully developed sewage or
water carriage system.
 Planning and design of wastewater collection facilities involves the determination of
wastewater flow, hydraulic design of sewers, their junction, selection of sewer appurtenances
such as inlet manhole, flushing tanks, grease and oil traps etc. and pumping stations.

• Conveyance
There are two types of collection and conveyance systems.
• On-site systems that typically serve one or a few households
• Off-site systems that serve multiple households and a community

• Treatment
Treatment is essential to reduce the spread of communicable diseases caused by pathogenic
organisms in the sewage and to prevent the pollution of surface and groundwater. Treatment is
carried out by a combination of physical unit operations and chemical and biological unit process.

• Disposal/reuse
Effluent disposal methods are dilution of streams, land application, reuse in agriculture and
aquaculture.

Objectives of sewage disposal

• To provide a good sanitary environmental condition of city protecting public health
• To dispose to a safe place by a safe and protective means
• To dispose to a proper place to prevent a favorable condition for mosquito breeding, fly
developing or bacteria growing
• To utilize the fertilizing value of sewage for growing crops.
• To increase the aesthetic appearance of the city or community.

Sanitation system

SANITATION
SYSTEM

CONSERVANCY WATER CARRIAGE

(TRADITIONAL) (SEWERAGE)
SYSTEM SYSTEM

PARTIALLY
COMBINED SEPARATED SEPARATED
SYSTEM SYSTEM SYSTEM

• Conservancy system
This is a primitive system where refuse are collected manually & then suitably disposed off to the
safe point of disposal. Conveyance is generally done by carts or trucks. The night soil is collected
in pans, carried by labor in carts, truck etc. & then buried into the ground & is thus converted into
manure. The storm water & sullage are collected & conveyed separately by closed or open channel.
They are discharged in natural rivers or stream.
➢ Advantage:

• A primitive method with no sophisticated technology.

• The system does not pollute water.
• Low initial cost
• Quantity of sewage to be treated is low.

➢ Disadvantage

• Insanitary condition: The decomposition of sewage starts about 4 to 5 hrs. after its production
and hence causes insanitary condition. There is direct contact between waste collection team
and waste, hence the risk of disease spreading is high.
• Labor Problem: It entirely depends upon labor. if the labor goes on strike due to any reason,
the public health is put into great danger.
• Land for disposal: The sewage, especially night soil requires considerable land for its disposal.
• Night soil carts: It is highly undesirable to allow the night soil cart to pass through main road
of the city.
• Open drains: If the storm water & sullage is carried in open drain. it creates unsanitary
condition.
• Pollution of water: There is a chance of liquid waste as it may soak in ground then the
underground supply of water will be polluted.
• Risk of epidemic: If the sewage is not properly disposed then there is a chance of outbreak of
epidemic.

• Water Carriage system (sewerage system)

In this system, water is used as a medium to convey the sewage from the point of generation to
treatment to the final point of disposal. Sewer lines are the conveyance structure.

➢ Advantages

• The system facilitates compact unit as waste is not collected and carries in buckets and carts,
as is required to be done in the conservancy system.
• The system is hygienic in nature as the sewage is transported in closed pipe i.e. sewer line
preventing contacts with waste water.
• Based on the availability of land, suitable type of treatment unit can be adopted.

➢ Disadvantages:

• Large quantity of water is polluted.

• Unnecessary conveyance of waste water if the treatment system is central.
• Cost intensive and requires high skilled technology in designing and operation
Classification of water carriage system/sewerage systems

• Separate system

In this system,

• Storm water and sewage are conveyed separately in two different sets of conduits.
• One for carrying sewage (sanitary sewers) while the other is for carrying storm water (storm
water sewers).
• Sewage carried to the treatment plant and the storm water is directly discharged into the natural
rivers at outlet points set up for the disposal purpose.

➢ Advantages

• The size of pipe is much smaller than the combined system sewers.
• Separation of wastewater from storm water minimize the total quantity of sewage resulting
sewage load to the treatment plant is small.
• Storm water can be discharged into the river directly.
• River water pollution is low.
• When sewage is to be lifted up this system proves to be economical as smaller amount of
sewage have to be handled.

➢ Disadvantages:

• If the sewer length is very high in compare to the quantity, laying two sets of pipe can
increase the total project cost.
• Sewer being small, it is difficult to clean and difficult to lay down in the congested area.
• As two sets of sewers are to be laid, system will be costly.
• Storm sewers come into use only during rainfall. So, during non-rainfall reason, they may
become dumping places for garbage and may get choked.
• Due to small quantity of sewage, self-cleaning velocity may not be available all the time
hence flushing system may require.

• Combined system
In this system, single pipe is used to carry both storm water and sewage. Sewage and storm water
are both carried to the treatment plant.

➢ Advantage:

• Size of sewers is large which is easy to clean and less chances of choking of large sewers.
• Unlike separate system, there is no need of two set of plumbing work.
• Suitable for regions where wet seasons is short.
• Only option in the areas where it is difficult to construct two pipelines and crowded streets.
• Cost of the overall system is less than separate system.
• Less space is needed.

➢ Disadvantages:

• Since the system carries both storm and sanitary waste, the pipe size is generally large and
hence it is difficult in handling and transportation.
• Due to storm water, load on treatment plant is unnecessarily increased.
• During heavy rains, sewers may overflow and may create unhygienic condition.
• If pumping is required to lift the sewage, it becomes uneconomical because huge amount of
storm water has to be lifted up along the sewage.
• In dry season, sedimentation of organic matter may lead to anaerobic digestion expelling
hydrogen sulphide and other gases. These gases corrode the pipe material and as thus the life
of pipe is decreased.
• Unnecessary pollution of rain water which could have been discharge directly to the river.

• Partially combined system

In this system a portion of storm water is allowed to enter in the sanitary sewage carrying sewer
and remaining storm sewage into another sewer. Storm water from roof, pavement and yards are
allowed to enter sewer and remaining sewage is drained off from other drain.

➢ Advantage:

• This is the most preferred system as it offers benefits of both systems.

• There is no need of separate plumbing work in each household or receiving units.
• The storm water collected from the road and public spaces can be directly discharged to the
river through open drain.
• The storm water entering to the sewer helps in flushing deposited sediments that can possibly
occur at the beginning part of the sewer line due to low sewage quantity.

➢ Disadvantage:

• Self-cleaning velocity may not be achieved in dry season.

• The loads on the treatment plant may increase.
• Only suitable for area with proper rainfall
Separate sewerage system Combine sewerage system
In this system, two sets of sewers are laid In this system, only one set of the sewer is
for carrying sewage and stormwater laid and carries both sewage and
separately. stormwater.

The cleaning of sewers is difficult as they The cleaning of sewers is easy as they are
are of small in size. of large in size.

The maintenance cost is less. The cleaning

The maintenance cost is high.
of sewers is easy as they are of large in size.

The load on the treatment plant becomes

The load on the treatment plant is less.
high.

The self-cleaning velocity is not easily

Self-cleaning velocity is easily achieved.
achieved.

Strength of sewage is more Strength of sewage is less.

This system proves to be economical when This system proves to be uneconomical

pumping is required for the lifting of when pumping is required for the lifting of
sewage. sewage.
The stormwater is not unnecessarily The stormwater is unnecessarily polluted.
polluted.
The initial cost is more as compared to The initial cost is less.
the combined sewer system.
This system is suitable when the rainfall is This system is suitable when the rainfall is
uneven or it is heavy for a short duration. small and evenly spread throughout the
year.