Design of Sewer System

Introduction
Name of Housing Society: Future Vision Housing Society
No of houses: 281
No of Apartments: 3
No of Flats: 3
Area of School: 790 m2
Area of commercial buildings: 562 m2
Estimated Area of the Society: 6809 m2

Theory
Sewage:
It is the Liquid Waste or Wastewater produced as a result of water use.
Sewer:

It is a pipe or conduit for carrying sewage. It is generally closed and flow takes place
under gravity.
Sewerage:
Sewerage is the system of collection of wastewater and conveying it to the point of
disposal with or without treatment.
Infiltration:
It is the wastewater that enters sewers through joints, cracked pipes, and walls and holes
of the covers.
Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) Lahore uses the following infiltration rates for the
design of sewer system.
Pipe dia. Up to 600mm = 5% avg. Sewage flow
For greater than 600mm = 10% avg. Sewage flow

Sources of Wastewater
i.

Domestic:
It is wastewater from houses offices, other buildings, hotels and institutions.

ii.

Industrial:
It is the liquid waste from industrial process.

iii.

Storm-water:
It includes surface run-off generated by rainfall and the street wash.

Components of Wastewater Collection System

i.

Collection System
It consists of a network of sewer pipes responsible for collection of sewage from
various localities and sites.

ii.

Disposal
It consists of the sewage pumping station sand outfalls.

iii.

Treatment works
This includes any sewage treatment plants for the treatment of sewage.

Types of Sewers
i)

Sanitary Sewer
It carries sanitary sewage like waste from municipalities including domestic and
industrial waste-water.

ii)

Storm Sewer
It carries storm sewage including surface run-off and street wash.

iii)

Combined Sewer
It carries domestic, industrial and storm Sewage.

iv)

House Sewer
It is the sewer conveying sewage from plumbing system of a building to common
municipal system.

v)

Lateral Sewer
This sewer carries discharge from houses sewer.

vi)

Sub-main
This sewer receives discharge from two or more laterals.

vii)

Main/Trunk Sewer
Receives discharge from two or more sub-mains.

viii)

Outfall Sewer
It receives discharge from all collecting system and conveys it to the point of final
disposal.

Types of Sewer Systems

i)

Separate System
If storm water is carried separately from domestic and industrial wastewater the
system is called as separate system.
Separate systems are favored when:
a) There is an immediate need for collection of the sanitary sewage but not for
storm water.
b) When sanitary sewage needs treatment but the storm water does not.

ii)

Combined System
It is the system in which the sewers carry both sanitary and storm water.
Combined system is favored when:
a) Combined sewage can be disposed off without treatment

b) Both sanitary and storm water need treatment

c) Streets are narrow and two separate sewer cannot be laid

iii)

Partially Combined System

If some portion of storm or surface run-off is allowed to be carried along with
sanitary sewage the system is known as partially combined system.
In Urban area of developing countries, mostly partially combined system is
employed as it is economical.

Steps for the Design of Sewer System

i)

Preliminary Investigations
Obtain maps and drawings that furnish information of the area
a) Population Density
b) Water consumption
c) Soil characteristics & Natural slope
Maps should also highlight the location of streets, parks , buildings etc.

ii)

Design Criteria Considerations

a) Design Flow
Calculation of avg. sewage flow on the basis of water consumption and the
population at the end of design period
1) Sanitary Sewer
Q

design

= Peak sewage flow + Infiltration

2) Partially Combined Sewer

design

= Peak sewage flow +Storm flow+ Infiltration

WASA Criteria (Peak sewage flow = Storm flow)

Q

design

= 2 x Peak sewage flow + Infiltration

b) Design Equation
Mannings formula is used for sewer flowing under gravity
2

1
v = R3 S2
n

c) Minimum Self cleansing velocity

Self-cleansing velocity is minimum velocity that ensures non-settlement of
suspended matter in the sewer.
Sanitary sewer = 0.6m/s
Storm sewer = 1m/s
Partially combined = 0.7m/s

d) Maximum Velocity
Should not be greater than 2.4m/s

To avoid excessive sewer abrasion

To avoid steep slopes

e) Minimum Sewer Size

225mm for lateral WASA

To avoid chocking of sewer with bigger size objects which enters through
manholes (bricks ,shrubs etc.)

f) Minimum cover.
Minimum 1 m earth cover on sewer crown to avoid damage from live loads.
g) Manholes

The purpose of providing a manhole is

Cleaning
Inspection
House Connection
It is provided at
Change in sewer direction
Change in sewer diameter
Change in sewer slope
iii)

Actual Design
a) Size of sewer :
Using
Q=AV
for the calculation of diameter
b) Slope of sewer:
Using manning formula
2

1
v = R3 S2
n

used for either calculation of slope or checking velocity

iv)

Preparation of Drawing and BOQ

Typical drawing includes

Sewer joints (Type of joints used and sizing)

Manholes
(Dimensions and depth of manholes)
Disposal stations (Locations)

Sewer profile

v)

Subsequent Modification

Design Period
a) Design of Sewer System.
Period of design is indefinite as the system is designed to care for the maximum
development of area.

Use of Qmax (maximum flow) for sewer design

Use of Qmin (minimum flow) to check velocities during low flow

b) Design of sewage pumping station

Design period is usually 10 years
We consider average daily flow , peak and minimum flow including infiltration
c) Design of sewage treatment Plants
Design period is usually 15-20years,
Require data of average flow , infiltration , peak flow

Design Data
No of people per house = 7
No of people per Apartment = 500
No of people per Flat = 700
Average water consumption per person per day = 364 lpcd

Recommendations
The sewer system designed for the society satisfies most of the criteria established by
WASA. In some places the velocity of flow is somewhat less than the minimum criteria set but as
the sewer is not flowing at full capacity for the entire year therefore the velocity is assumed to be
sufficient to aloe the sewage to be carried through the pipeline. The flow occurs with sufficient
velocity by following the natural slope of the ground and there is very little if any need for
flushing.