Wastewater - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.

org/wiki/Wastewater

Wastewater
Wastewater (or waste water) is any water that has been affected by
human use. Wastewater is "used water from any combination of
domestic, industrial, commercial or agricultural activities, surface runoff
or stormwater, and any sewer inflow or sewer infiltration".[1] Therefore,
wastewater is a byproduct of domestic, industrial, commercial or
agricultural activities. The characteristics of wastewater vary depending
on the source. Types of wastewater include: domestic wastewater from
households, municipal wastewater from communities (also called
sewage) or industrial wastewater from industrial activities. Wastewater
can contain physical, chemical and biological pollutants.

Households may produce wastewater from flush toilets, sinks,

dishwashers, washing machines, bath tubs, and showers. Households
that use dry toilets produce less wastewater than those that use flush
toilets.
Greywater (a type of wastewater) in
Wastewater may be conveyed in a sanitary sewer which conveys only a settling tank
sewage. Alternatively, it can be transported in a combined sewer which
includes stormwater runoff and industrial wastewater. After treatment
at a wastewater treatment plant, the treated wastewater (also called effluent) is discharged to a receiving water
body. The terms "wastewater reuse" or "water reclamation" apply if the treated waste is used for another purpose.
Wastewater that is discharged to the environment without suitable treatment causes water pollution.

In developing countries and in rural areas with low population densities, wastewater is often treated by various on-
site sanitation systems and not conveyed in sewers. These systems include septic tanks connected to drain fields,
on-site sewage systems (OSS), vermifilter systems and many more.

Contents
Terminology
Sources
Pollutants
Chemical or physical pollutants
Biological pollutants
Quality indicators
Treatment
Disposal
Reuse
Legislation
Australia
Nigeria
Philippines

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United States
See also
References

Terminology
The overarching term sanitation includes the management of wastewater, human excreta, solid waste and
stormwater. The term sewerage refers to the physical infrastructure required to transport and treat wastewater.

Sources
Sources of wastewater include the following domestic or household activities:

Human excreta (feces and urine) often mixed with used toilet paper or wipes; this is known as blackwater if it is
collected with flush toilets
Washing water (personal, clothes, floors, dishes, cars, etc.), also known as greywater or sullage
Surplus manufactured liquids from domestic sources (drinks, cooking oil, pesticides, lubricating oil, paint,
cleaning liquids, etc.)
Activities producing industrial wastewater:

Industrial site drainage (silt, sand, alkali, oil, chemical residues);

Industrial cooling waters (biocides, heat, slimes, silt)
Industrial processing waters
Organic or biodegradable waste, including waste from hospitals, abattoirs, creameries, and food factories.
Organic or non bio-degradable waste that is difficult-to-treat from pharmaceutical or pesticide manufacturing
Extreme pH waste from acid and alkali manufacturing
Toxic waste from metal plating, cyanide production, pesticide manufacturing, etc.
Solids and emulsions from paper mills, factories producing lubricants or hydraulic oils, foodstuffs, etc.
Water used in hydraulic fracturing
Produced water from oil & natural gas production
Other activities or events:

Urban runoff from highways, roads, carparks, roofs, sidewalks/pavements (contains oils, animal feces, litter,
gasoline/petrol, diesel or rubber residues from tires, soapscum, metals from vehicle exhausts, de-icing agents,
herbicides and pesticides from gardens,etc.)
Agricultural pollution, direct and diffuse
Wastewater can be diluted or mixed with other types of water by the following mechanisms:

Seawater ingress (high volumes of salt and microbes)

Direct ingress of river water
Rainfall collected on roofs, yards, hard-standings, etc. (generally clean with traces of oils and fuel)
Groundwater infiltrated into sewage
Mixing with other types of wastewater or fecal sludge

Pollutants
The composition of wastewater varies widely. This is a partial list of pollutants that may be contained in
wastewater:

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Chemical or physical pollutants

Heavy metals, including mercury, lead, and chromium
Organic particles such as feces, hairs, food, vomit, paper fibers, plant material, humus, etc.;
Soluble organic material such as urea, fruit sugars, soluble proteins, drugs, pharmaceuticals, etc.;
Inorganic particles such as sand, grit, metal particles, ceramics, etc.;
Soluble inorganic material such as ammonia, road-salt, sea-salt, cyanide, hydrogen sulfide, thiocyanates,
thiosulfates, etc.;
Macro-solids such as sanitary napkins, nappies/diapers, condoms, needles, children's toys, dead animals or
plants, etc.;
Gases such as hydrogen sulfide, carbon dioxide, methane, etc.;
Emulsions such as paints, adhesives, mayonnaise, hair colorants, emulsified oils, etc.;
Toxins such as pesticides, poisons, herbicides, etc.
Pharmaceuticals and hormones and other hazardous substances
Thermal pollution from power stations and industrial manufacturers

Biological pollutants
If the wastewater contains human feces, as is the case for sewage, then it may also contain pathogens of one of the
four types:[2][3]

Bacteria (for example Salmonella, Shigella, Campylobacter, Vibrio cholerae),

Viruses (for example hepatitis A, rotavirus, enteroviruses),
Protozoa (for example Entamoeba histolytica, Giardia lamblia, Cryptosporidium parvum) and
Parasites such as helminths and their eggs (e.g. Ascaris (roundworm), Ancylostoma (hookworm), Trichuris
(whipworm));
It can also contain non-pathogenic bacteria and animals such as insects, arthropods, small fish.

Quality indicators
Since all natural waterways contain bacteria and nutrients, almost any waste compounds introduced into such
waterways will initiate biochemical reactions (such as shown above). Those biochemical reactions create what is
measured in the laboratory as the biochemical oxygen demand (BOD). Such chemicals are also liable to be broken
down using strong oxidizing agents and these chemical reactions create what is measured in the laboratory as the
chemical oxygen demand (COD). Both the BOD and COD tests are a measure of the relative oxygen-depletion effect
of a waste contaminant. Both have been widely adopted as a measure of pollution effect. The BOD test measures the
oxygen demand of biodegradable pollutants whereas the COD test measures the oxygen demand of oxidizable
pollutants.

Any oxidizable material present in an aerobic natural waterway or in an industrial wastewater will be oxidized both
by biochemical (bacterial) or chemical processes. The result is that the oxygen content of the water will be
decreased.

Treatment
At a global level, around 80% of wastewater produced is discharged into the environment untreated, causing
widespread water pollution.[4]:2

There are numerous processes that can be used to clean up wastewaters depending on the type and extent of
contamination. Wastewater can be treated in wastewater treatment plants which include physical, chemical and
biological treatment processes. Municipal wastewater is treated in sewage treatment plants (which may also be

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referred to as wastewater treatment plants). Agricultural wastewater may be treated in agricultural wastewater
treatment processes, whereas industrial wastewater is treated in industrial wastewater treatment processes.

For municipal wastewater the use of septic tanks and other On-Site Sewage Facilities (OSSF) is widespread in some
rural areas, for example serving up to 20 percent of the homes in the U.S.[5]

One type of aerobic treatment system is the activated sludge process, based on the maintenance and recirculation of
a complex biomass composed of micro-organisms able to absorb and adsorb the organic matter carried in the
wastewater. Anaerobic wastewater treatment processes (UASB, EGSB) are also widely applied in the treatment of
industrial wastewaters and biological sludge. Some wastewater may be highly treated and reused as reclaimed
water. Constructed wetlands are also being used.

Disposal
In some urban areas, municipal wastewater is carried
separately in sanitary sewers and runoff from streets is
carried in storm drains. Access to either of these systems is
typically through a manhole.

During high precipitation periods a combined sewer

system may experience a combined sewer overflow event,
which forces untreated sewage to flow directly to receiving
waters. This can pose a serious threat to public health and
the surrounding environment.

Sewage may drain directly into major watersheds with

minimal or no treatment but this usually has serious Industrial wastewater effluent with neutralized pH
impacts on the quality of an environment and on the from tailing runoff in Peru.
health of people. Pathogens can cause a variety of
illnesses. Some chemicals pose risks even at very low
concentrations and can remain a threat for long periods of time because of bioaccumulation in animal or human
tissue.

Wastewater from industrial activities may be pumped underground through an injection well. Wastewater injection
has been linked to Induced seismicity[6].

Reuse
Treated wastewater can be reused in industry (for example in cooling towers), in artificial recharge of aquifers, in
agriculture and in the rehabilitation of natural ecosystems (for example in wetlands). In rarer cases it is also used to
augment drinking water supplies. There are several technologies used to treat wastewater for reuse. A combination
of these technologies can meet strict treatment standards and make sure that the processed water is hygienically
safe, meaning free from bacteria and viruses. The following are some of the typical technologies: Ozonation,
ultrafiltration, aerobic treatment (membrane bioreactor), forward osmosis, reverse osmosis, advanced oxidation.

Some water demanding activities do not require high grade water. In this case, wastewater can be reused with little
or no treatment. One example of this scenario is in the domestic environment where toilets can be flushed using
greywater from baths and showers with little or no treatment.

Irrigation with recycled wastewater can also serve to fertilize plants if it contains nutrients, such as nitrogen,
phosphorus and potassium. In developing countries, agriculture is using untreated wastewater for irrigation - often

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in an unsafe manner. There can be significant health hazards related to using untreated wastewater in agriculture.
The World Health Organization developed guidelines for safe use of wastewater in 2006.[7]

Legislation

Australia
As part of the Environmental Protection Act 1994, the Environmental Protection (Water) Policy 2009 is responsible
for the water management of Queensland, Australia.[8]

Nigeria
In Nigeria, the Water Resources Act of 1993 is the law responsible for all kinds of water management.

Philippines
In the Philippines, Republic Act 9275, otherwise known as the Philippine Clean Water Act of 2004, [9] is the
governing law on wastewater management. It states that it is the country's policy to protect, preserve and revive the
quality of its fresh, brackish and marine waters, for which wastewater management plays a particular role. [9]

United States
The Clean Water Act is the primary federal law in the United States governing water pollution in surface waters.[10]
Groundwater protection provisions are included in the Safe Drinking Water Act, Resource Conservation and
Recovery Act, and the Superfund act.

See also
Fecal sludge management
List of waste-water treatment technologies
Sanitation
Waste management
Water management
Water pollution

References
1. Tilley, E., Ulrich, L., Lüthi, C., Reymond, Ph., Zurbrügg, C. Compendium of Sanitation Systems and
Technologies – (2nd Revised Edition) (http://www.eawag.ch/en/department/sandec/publications/compendium/).
Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag), Duebendorf, Switzerland. p. 175.
ISBN 978-3-906484-57-0. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20160408021403/http://www.eawag.ch
/en/department/sandec/publications/compendium/) from the original on 8 April 2016.
2. World Health Organization (2006). Guidelines for the safe use of wastewater, excreta, and greywater
(https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/71253096). World Health Organization. p. 31. ISBN 9241546859.
OCLC 71253096 (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/71253096).

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3. Andersson, K., Rosemarin, A., Lamizana, B., Kvarnström, E., McConville, J., Seidu, R., Dickin, S. and Trimmer,
C. (2016). Sanitation, Wastewater Management and Sustainability: from Waste Disposal to Resource Recovery
(http://www.susana.org/en/resources/library/details/2636) Archived (https://web.archive.org
/web/20170601071836/http://www.susana.org/en/resources/library/details/2636) 1 June 2017 at the Wayback
Machine.. Nairobi and Stockholm: United Nations Environment Programme and Stockholm Environment
Institute. ISBN 978-92-807-3488-1, p. 56
4. WWAP (United Nations World Water Assessment Programme) (2017). The United Nations World Water
Development Report 2017. Wastewater: The Untapped Resource (https://web.archive.org
/web/20170408061139/http://www.unwater.org/publications/publications-detail/en/c/853650/). Paris.
ISBN 978-92-3-100201-4. Archived from the original (http://www.unwater.org/publications/publications-detail
/en/c/853650/) on 8 April 2017.
5. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C. (2008). "Septic Systems Fact Sheet."
(http://water.epa.gov/aboutow/owm/upload/2009_06_22_septics_septic_systems_factsheet.pdf) Archived
(https://web.archive.org/web/20130412140527/http://water.epa.gov/aboutow/owm/upload
/2009_06_22_septics_septic_systems_factsheet.pdf) 12 April 2013 at the Wayback Machine. EPA publication
no. 832-F-08-057.
6. van der Baan, Mirko; Calixto, Frank J. (2017-07-01). "Human-induced seismicity and large-scale hydrocarbon
production in the USA and Canada" (http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/2017GC006915/abstract).
Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems. 18 (7): 2467–2485. doi:10.1002/2017gc006915 (https://doi.org
/10.1002%2F2017gc006915). ISSN 1525-2027 (https://www.worldcat.org/issn/1525-2027).
7. WHO (2006). WHO Guidelines for the Safe Use of Wastewater, Excreta and Greywater – Volume IV: Excreta
and greywater use in agriculture (http://www.susana.org/en/resources/library/details/1004) Archived
(https://web.archive.org/web/20141017235811/http://www.susana.org/en/resources/library/details/1004) 17
October 2014 at the Wayback Machine.. World Health Organization (WHO), Geneva, Switzerland
8. "Environmental policy and legislation" (https://www.ehp.qld.gov.au/management/env-policy-legislation/).
Department of Environmental and Heritage Protection. Queensland Government. Archived
(https://web.archive.org/web/20171020084039/https://www.ehp.qld.gov.au/management/env-policy-legislation/)
from the original on 20 October 2017. Retrieved 20 October 2017.
9. "An Act Providing For A Comprehensive Water Quality Management And For Other Purposes"
(http://www.lawphil.net/statutes/repacts/ra2004/ra_9275_2004.html). The LawPhil Project. Archived
(https://web.archive.org/web/20160921041418/http://www.lawphil.net/statutes/repacts/ra2004
/ra_9275_2004.html) from the original on 21 September 2016. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
10. United States. Clean Water Act. 33 U.S.C. § 1251 (https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/33/1251) et seq.
Pub.L. 92-500 (http://www.epw.senate.gov/water.pdf) Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20130516205847
/http://www.epw.senate.gov/water.pdf) 16 May 2013 at the Wayback Machine., 18 October 1972; as amended.

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