BKC 3683 WATER AND

WASTEWATER TREATMENT

CHAPTER 1
Introduction to Water and
Wastewater Treatment
TOPIC OUTCOMES

• Define the important terms in the water and wastewater treatment

• Classify the water and wastewater
• Recognize the environmental legislation especially for water and
wastewater
Chapter 1: Introduction to water
and wastewater treatment

1.1 Water and water cycles

1.2 Wastewater and wastewater classification
1.3 Law & regulation
1.1 Water and Water Cycles
• Water is of major importance to all living things; in some organisms, up to 90% of their body
weight comes from water.
• Up to 60% of the human body is water, the brain is composed of 70% water, and the lungs are
nearly 90% water.
• About 83% of our blood is water, which helps digest out food, transport waste, and control
body temperature.
• In our body, water has ability to dissolve so many substances that allows our cells to use
valuable nutrients, minerals, and chemicals in biological processes.
• Also, water is able to transport waste material out of our bodies.
• Chemically, water is hydrogen oxide. It has one atom of oxygen bound to two atoms of
hydrogen. The hydrogen atoms are attached to one side of the oxygen atom, resulting in a
water molecule having a positive charge on the side where the hydrogen atoms are and a
negative charge on the other side, where the oxygen atom is. This opposite electrical charges
making water kind of “sticky”.
• When liquid, water is virtually incompressible; as it freezes, it expands by an 11th of its volume.
• Along with H2O molecules, hydrogen (H+), hydroxyl (OH-), sodium, potassium and magnesium,
there are other ions and elements present.
• Water also contains dissolved compounds including various carbonates, sulfates, silicates, and
chlorides.
• E.g Rainwater may taking up dissolved gases, such as CO2 and O2, and a multitude of
organics substances and minerals leached from the soil
• Water cycles consist of
1. Source
1. Surface water – oceans, lakes, rivers/streams, estuaries, wetlands
2. Ground water
2. Water treatment and distribution
3. Use and reuse
4. Wastewater treatment and disposition
Natural Water Cycle
Urban Water Cycle
Urban Water Cycle
Indirect Water Reuse Process
Indirect Water Reuse Process
• A – reuse in agriculture
• B – resume in industry
• C – urban reuse
• D – aquifer recharge
• E – indirect potable reuse
of an aquifer
• F – indirect potable reuse
of a river
• G – regeneration and reuse
of industrial water
 LEVELS OF WASTEWATER TREATMENT
TREATMENT LEVEL DESCRIPTION
PRELIMINARY Removal of wastewater constituents such as rags, sticks, floatables, grit, and grease
that may cause maintenance or operational problems with the treatment
operations, processes, and ancillary systems – physical treatment
PRIMARY Removal of a portion of the suspended solids and organic matter from the
wastewater. – physical treatment
ADVANCED PRIMARY Enhanced removal of suspended solids and organic matter from the wastewater.
Typically accomplished by chemical addition or filtration – chemical treatment
SECONDARY Removal of biodegradable organic matter (in solution or suspension) and
suspended solids. Disinfection is also typically included in the definition of
conventional secondary treatment – biological & chemical treatment
SECONDARY WITH Removal of biodegradable organics, suspended solids, and nutrients (nitrogen,
NUTRIENT REMOVAL phosphorous, or both nitrogen and phosphorous) - biological & chemical treatment
TERTIARY Removal of residual suspended solids (after secondary treatment), usually by
granular medium filtration or microscreens. Disinfection is also typically a part of
tertiary treatment. Nutrient removal is often included in this definition –
combination treatment
ADVANCED Removal of dissolved and suspended materials remaining after normal biological
treatment when required for various water reuse applications – additional
combination
 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION TO WATER AND
WASTEWATER TREATMENT

1.1 WATER AND WATER CYCLES

1.2 WASTEWATER CLASSIFICATION
1.3 LAW & REGULATION
 1.2 wastewater classification
• Wastewater
Discarded or previously used water from a
municipality, industry or other activity.

• Types:
1. Municipal
2. Industrial
3. Other (storm runoff & agriculturalrunoff)

• Sources:
1. Urban areas (Residential & commercial)
2. Industrial parks
 1.2 wastewater classification
1. Domestic (sewage) wastewater
Wastewater by residential, shop, houses, offices, schools, etc.
(normally generated by sinks, toilet, and bathrooms. Contains mainly
human and animal waste, household wastes, small amounts of
groundwater infiltration and small amounts of industrial wastes.
 1.2 wastewater classification
2. SANITARY WASTEWATER
Consists of domestic wastes and significant amounts of industrial wastes.
In many cases, the industrial wastes can be treated without special
precautions. However, in some cases, the industrial wastes will require
special precautions or a pretreatment program to ensure the wastes do not
cause compliance problems for the wastewater treatment plant.
 1.2 wastewater classification
3. industrial wastewater
Consists of industrial wastes only. Often the industry will determine
that it is safer and more economical to treat its waste independent of
domestic wastes.
 1.2 wastewater classification
4. COMBINED WASTEWATER
Consists of a combination of sanitary wastewater and storm water runoff.
All the wastewater and storm water of the community is transported
through one system to the treatment plant.
 1.2 wastewater classification
5. STORM WATER
Contains a separate collection system (no sanitary waste) that carries
rainwater (may include pollutants) and storm water runoff including
street debris, road salt, and grit.
Why treat wastewater?
• Untreated wastewater harmful to health
• Breeding sites for insects, pests, microorganism.
• Can cause environmental pollution and affect ecosystem.
Water pollution
• Water pollution is the contamination of water bodies such as lakes, rivers, oceans,
and groundwater caused by human activities, which can be harmful to organisms
and plants that live in these water bodies. It occurs when pollutants are
discharged directly into water bodies without treating it first.
• Water pollution is a major problem in the global context. It has been suggested
that it is the leading worldwide cause of deaths and diseases, that accounts for the
deaths of more than 14,000 people daily.
Water pollution
• The acute problems of water pollution in developing countries, industrialized
countries continue to struggle with pollution problems as well.
• The national report on water quality in the United States, 45% of assessed
stream miles, 47% of assessed lake acres, and 32% of assessed bay and
estuarine square miles were classified as polluted.
 Thermal pollution
• Thermal pollution is the rise or fall in the temperature of a natural body
of water caused by human influence.
• A common cause of thermal pollution is the use of water as a coolant by
power plants and industrial manufacturers.
• Elevated water temperatures decreases oxygen levels (which can kill
fish) and affects ecosystem compositions, such as invasion by new
thermophilic species. Urban runoff may also elevate temperature in
surface waters.
• Thermal pollution can also be caused by release of very cold water from
the base of reservoirs into warmer rivers.
Thermal pollution impact
 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION TO WATER AND
WASTEWATER TREATMENT

1.1 WATER AND WATER CYCLES

1.2 WASTEWATER AND WASTEWATER CLASSIFICATION
1.3 LAW & REGULATION
1.3 Regulation – Water Quality
Standards
• Regulatory influence on water-quality improvements in both
wastewater and drinking water took a giant step forward in the
1970s.
• The Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972 (Clean Water
Act - CWA), established national water pollution control goals.
• At about the same time, the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) passed
by Congress in 1974 started a new era in the field of drinking water
supply to the public.
Clean Water Act 1972
• As mentioned, in 1972, congress adopted the Clean Water Act (CWA), which establishes a
framework for achieving its national objectives to restore and maintain the chemical,
physical, and biological integrity of the nation’s waters.
• Current standards require that municipal wastewater be given secondary treatment and
that most effluents meet the conditions shown in Table 1.1. The goal, via secondary
treatment, was set in order that the principal components of municipal wastewater,
suspended solids, biodegradable material, and pathogens could be reduced to acceptable
levels.
• Industrial discharges are required to treat their wastewater to the level obtainable by the
best available technology (BAT) for wastewater treatment in the particular type of
industry.
• A National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (npdes) Program was established
based on uniform technological minimums with which each point source discharger has
to comply.
• Under NPDES, each municipality and industry discharging effluent into streams is
assigned discharge permits. These permits reflect the secondary treatment and BAT
standards.
Table 1.1 Secondary treatment standards
 Table 1.2 Sub-index of water quality classification

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The Failure To Provide Safe Drinking Water And Adequate Sanitation Services
To All People Is Perhaps The Greatest Development Failure Of The Twentieth
Century.
- Gleick (1998, 2000, pp. 39-64)