REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES

NUEVA ECIJA UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND

TECHNOLOGY
CABANATUAN CITY
CIVIL ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT

Wastewater Treatment
Unit Processes of Secondary
Treatment

Prepared by:
Arjay L. Kuizon
BSCE3-E
ES323-Environmental Engineering
March 26, 2014

Introduction
Water is essential to sustain life on Earth and an understanding of water quantity and
quality issues is vital for anyone involved in environmental management. Fundamentals of
Hydrology provide an absorbing and comprehensive introduction to how fresh water moves
on and around the planet and how humans affect the quantity and quality of water available
to them. The book consists of three parts, each of fundamental importance to an
understanding of hydrology. Fundamentals of Hydrology are an accessible introduction to
the study of hydrology at university level. It presents the hydrological processes, techniques
used to assess water resources and an up-to-date overview of hydrological management.
Discussions
The Hydrological Cycle
As starring point for the study of hydrology it is useful to consider the hydrological
cycle. This is the conceptual model of how water moves around between the earth and
atmosphere in different state of matter. It is the supplying and removing water from the
earths surface. We have two process of transferring water from the earths atmosphere
which is evaporation and transpiration. Evaporation is a type of vaporization of a liquid
that occurs from the surface of a liquid into a gaseous phase that is not saturated with the
evaporating substance while transpiration is the process of water movement through a
plant and its evaporation from aerial parts, such as from leaves but also from stems and
flowers.

In this figure we may see how hydrological cycle moves around:

Surface Water Hydrology

Surface Water Hydrology is a natural science that deals with the transport and
distribution of water (liquid, gas, solid) in the atmosphere, on and beneath the earth's
surface.
Surface water hydrology includes the study of surface water movement and the
distribution of surface water in space and time. Of particular interest is the variability in
water quantity and flow within a year and between years. This variability in water supply is
largely influenced by climate. Together with geographical characteristics such as
topography, soils, and land use, hydrologic variability affects the development and character
of surface water systems such as lakes and rivers.

Ground Water Hydrology

Groundwater, water that occurs below the surface of the Earth, where it occupies all
or part of the void spaces in soils or geologic strata. It is also called subsurface water to
distinguish it from surface water which is found in large bodies like the oceans or lakes, or
which flows overland in streams. Both surface and subsurface water are related through
the hydrologic cycle (the continuous circulation of water in the Earth-atmosphere system).
A brief treatment of groundwater follows. For full treatment, see hydrosphere: Ground
waters.
Most groundwater comes from precipitation. Precipitation infiltrates below the ground
surface into the soil zone. When the soil zone becomes saturated, water percolates
downward. A zone of saturation occurs where all the interstices are filled with water. There
is also a aeration where the interstices are occupied partially by water and partially by air.
Groundwater continues to descend until, at some depth, it merges into a zone of dense rock.
Water is contained in the pores of such rocks, but the pores are not connected and water will
not migrate. The process of precipitation replenishing the groundwater supply is known as
recharge. In general, recharge occurs only during the rainy season in tropical climates or
during winter in temperate climates. Typically, 10 to 20 percent of the precipitation that falls
to the Earth enters water-bearing strata (aquifers).Groundwater is constantly in motion.
Compared to surface water, it moves very slowly, the actual rate dependent on the
transmissivity and storage capacity of the aquifer. Natural outflows of groundwater take
place through springs and riverbeds when the groundwater pressure is higher than
atmospheric pressure in the vicinity of the ground surface. Internal circulation is not easily

determined, but near the water table the average cycling time of water may be a year or less,
while in deep aquifers it may be as long as thousands of years.
Groundwater plays a vital role in the development of arid and semiarid zones,
sometimes supporting vast agricultural and industrial enterprises that could not otherwise
exist. It is particularly fortunate that aquifers antedating the formation of deserts remain
unaffected by increases in aridity with the passage of time. Withdrawal, however, will
deplete even the largest of groundwater basins so that development based on the existence of
aquifers can be only temporary at best.

Common Units of Measurements

Precipitation, Evaporation, and Transpiration is reported as either depths or rates.
In SI unit of measurements depths are reported in millimeters (mm) and rates are reported in
millimeters per hour (mm/h).
Speed (u) is the movement of water in rivers and is reported in meters per second
3
(m/s). Flow (Q) is the volume of water moving in a unit of time ( m /s).

3
Volume is reported in cubic meter (m ) .

The Hydrologic Equation

Because the total quantity of water available in the earth is finite, the global
hydrological system is considered to be a closed system; that is, it is self-contained or in
mass balance.
As such it may be described by a simple mass-balance equation:
V P ( ) - V S ( ) - V R () - V G () - V E () - V T ( ) = 0

Where v refers to the volume and the subscripts are defined as follows:
P = precipitation

T= transpiration

S = storage
R= runoff
G= groundwater infiltration
E= evaporation
Infiltration. In the numerous equations developed to describe infiltration, Hortons
equation is useful to examine because it characterizes three phenomena of interest. Horton
expressed the infiltration rate as:

f=

fc

fo
kt
fc
) e
-

Evaporation. The loss of water from the surface of a lake or other water body is a
function of solar radiation, air and water temperature, wind speed, and the difference in
vapor pressures at the water surface and in the overlying air. As with estimates of infiltration

rate, there are numerous methods for estimating evaporation. Dalton first expressed the
fundamental relationship in the form:

E=

es
ea
) (a + bu)
-

where; E = evaporation rate (mm/d)

es

= saturation vapor pressure (kPa)

ea

= vapor pressure in overlying air (kPa)

a, b = empirical constants
u = wind speed (m/s)

Summary
Hydrology, scientific discipline concerned with the waters of the Earth, including
their occurrence, distribution, and circulation via the hydrologic cycle and interactions with
living things. It also deals with the chemical and physical properties of water in all its
phases.
Hydrological cycle is the supplying and removing water from the earths surface
where it is through evaporation and transpiration.

Surface Water Hydrology is a natural science that deals with the transport and
distribution of water (liquid, gas, solid) in the atmosphere, on and beneath the earth's surface
where it comes to include all water beyond the earths atmosphere.
Ground-water hydrology is the subdivision of the science of hydrology that deals
with the occurrence, movement, and quality of water beneath the Earth's surface.

The hydrologic equation is described by a simple mass-balance equation:

V P ( ) - V S ( ) - V R ( ) - V G () - V E () - V T ( ) = 0

References:
http://books.google.com.ph/books?
id=tIVaTXdzdmMC&pg=PA7&dq=surface+water+hydrology&hl=en&sa=X&ei=eAEvUCLL4v_oQS9v4KICQ&ved=0CFQQ6AEwCA#v=onepage&q=surface%20water
%20hydrology&f=false
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/247019/groundwater
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