Water Supply and Waste Water

Management
Department of Technology
Prepared By: Engr Arsalan
The University of Lahore

Sedimentation Basin Design and Problems

Designing a Rectangular Sedimentation Tank
Introduction
Two characteristics are important in designing a sedimentation basin.
The overflow rate (also known as the surface loading or the surface overflow rate) is
equal to the settling velocity of the smallest particle which the basin will remove. Surface
loading is calculated by dividing the flow by the surface area of the tank. Overflow rate
should usually be less than 30 m/day.
The weir loading is another important factor in sedimentation basin efficiency. Weir
loading, also known as weir overflow rate, is the flow of water passing over linear length
of weir per day.

Specifications
The sedimentation basin we will design in this lesson will be a rectangular sedimentation
basin with the following specifications:

Rectangular basin
Depth: 3-5 m
Width: 10 m (In general)
Length: 4 width (2W is common)
Influent baffle to reduce flow momentum
Slope of bottom toward sludge hopper >1%
Continuous sludge removal with a scraper velocity <15 ft/min
Detention time: 2-8 hours
Flow through velocity: <0.152 m/min
Overflow rate: 20-30 m/d
Weir loading: 250 m3/m/d

Steps in Design:
We will determine the surface area, dimensions, and volume of the sedimentation tank as
well as the weir length. The calculations are as follows:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

Divide flow into at least two tanks.

Calculate the required surface area.
Calculate the required volume.
Calculate the tank depth.
Calculate the tank width and length.
Check flow through velocity.
If velocity is too high, repeat calculations with more tanks.
Calculate the weir length.

1. Divide the Flow

The flow should be divided into at least two tanks and the flow through each tank should be
calculated using the formula shown below:
Qc = Q / n
Where:

Qc = flow in one tank

Q = total flow
n = number of tanks

2. Surface Area
Next, the required tank surface area is calculated. We will base this surface area on an
overflow rate of 20-30 m/day in order to design the most efficient sedimentation basin.
The surface area is calculated using the following formula:
A = Qc / O.R.
Where:

A = surface area,
Qc = flow,
O.R. = overflow rate,

3. Volume
When sludge removal is manual, detention time should be 6 hours. We will consider a tank
with automatic sludge removal, so the detention time should be 4 hours.
The volume of one of our tanks is calculated as follows:
V=Qt

(Notice the conversions between days and hours and between cubic meters and liters.)

4. Depth
The tank's depth is calculated as follows:
d=V/A
Where:

d = depth,
V = volume,
A = surface area,

The specifications note that the depth should be between 3-5m. If the depth is too great, we
will begin our calculations again, using a larger number of tanks. If the depth is too
shallow, we will use a smaller number of tanks.

5. Width and Length

You will remember that the volume of a rectangular solid is calculated as follows:
V=LWd
Where:
V = volume
L = length
W = width
d = depth

For our tank, the length has been defined as follows:

L=4W

Combining these two formulas, we get the following formula used to calculate the width of
tank:

6 and 7. Flow Through Velocity

Checking the flow through velocity is done just as it was for the flocculation basin. First,
the cross-sectional area of the tank is calculated:
Ax = W d
Then the flow through velocity of the tank is calculated.
V = Qc / Ax
The velocity should be less than 0.5 ft/min.

8. Weir Length
The final step is to calculate the required length of weir. We will assume a weir loading (if
not given) and use the following equation to calculate the weir length:
Lw = Qc / W.L
Where:
Lw = weir length,
Qc = flow in one tank,
W.L. = weir loading,

Conclusions
Our plant should build a sedimentation tank which is ______deep, ______wide, and
________ long. This tank will have a surface area of ______and a volume of
_______. The flow through velocity will be _________. The weir length will be _______.

New Formulas Used

To calculate tank surface area:

A = Qc / O.R.

To calculate tank depth:

d=V/A

To calculate width of a rectangular tank where length is four times the width:

To calculate length of a rectangular tank where length is four times the width:
L=4W

To calculate flow through velocity:

V = Qc / Ax

To calculate weir length:

Lw = Qc / W.L

Assignments
1. Answer the following questions. Show all of your work and circle
the answer for each math problem below. If there is insufficient
information to find the answer, write "Insufficient information".
When you are done, either email, mail or fax the assignment to your
instructor.
1. Flow into a sedimentation basin is 3.4 cfs. The sedimentation
basin will be divided into two tanks, each with an overflow
rate of 500 gal/day-ft2. What is the surface area of one tank?
2. A rectangular sedimentation basin is 24 feet long, 6 feet
wide, and 10 feet deep. The flow into the basin is 0.5 MGD.
Is the overflow rate within the recommended range?
3. A sedimentation basin has a recommended detention time of
4 hours. The flow is 0.7 MGD. What should the volume of
the tank be, in cubic feet?
4. A rectangular sedimentation basin has a surface area of 3,000
ft2 and a volume of 19,600 ft3. What is the basin's depth?
5. The volume of a rectangular tank is 19,600 ft3. The depth is
12 ft. The length is four times the width. What is the tank's
width?
6. A rectangular sedimentation basin has an overflow rate of
500 gal/day-ft2. The basin will be divided into two tanks. The
detention time is 6 hours. What is the tank's length?
7. A tank has a width of 10 feet and a depth of 12 feet. The flow
in the tank is 0.4 MGD. What is the flow through velocity?
8. Assume a weir loading of 15,000 gal/day-ft and a flow of 0.2
MGD in a sedimentation tank. What is the recommended
weir length?
9. Given a flow of 5 MGD, a rectangular sedimentation basin
divided into 3 tanks, an overflow rate of 600 gal/day-ft2, and
a detention time of 4 hours. What is a tank's flow through
velocity?
10. The tank described in question 9 has a weir loading of 15,000
gal/day-ft. What is the weir length?

Example:

Design a rectangular sedimentation tank to treat a flow of 25,000

m3/day. Adopt an overflow rate of 25 m/day, a detention time of 2 hours
and a sludge storage capacity of 20% of effective volume. Under ideal
condition what particle size will be removed if
and specific gravity of particle is 2.65.
Solution
Q = 25000 m3/d
SOR = 25 m/day
S.A =

Q
25000

SOR
25

= 1000 m2

Let no of tanks = 4
Area of each tank = 1000/4 = 250 m2
Let
L:W = 2.5:1
A = 2.5 W W
250 = 2.5 W2 W = 10 m, L = 25 m
Now
Since D.T = 2 /24 day=Vol/Q=250xD/(25000/4)
D=2.082.1m
Effective Depth = 2.1m.
Add 20% for sludge storage
Tank depth = 2.08 1.2 = 2.492.5m
Dimension of each tank :

25m 10m 2.5m

Now settling velocity

Vs =

1 s s 1 2
g
d
18

Vs = SOR = 25 m/d = 0.028 cm/sec

= 1.2 x 10-2 cm2/sec

0.028 =

1 9812.65 1

d2
18 1.2 10 2

d = 0.0019 cm
d = 0.019 mm
check RN =

Vd

0.028 0.0019
1.2 10 2

= 0.004 < 1 ok
Example

Design a sedimentation tank to serve a population of 15,000

persons with an average water consumption of 350 lpcd.
Solution
Following design criteria will be used
SOR = 25 m/d 20 33 m/d
D.T= 2 hr
Weir overflow rate = 250 m3/m/d
Depth

3 m (to prevent scouring)

Now,
Av daily flow

15000 350
1000

= 5250 m3/d
Surface area of sedimentation tank

= 210 m2
Check detention time with a depth of 3 m
Detention time = 2 hr
Volume = 210 3 = 630 m3

5250
25

D.T =

Vol
630

0.12 days 2.88 hour (ok )

disch arg e 5250

Let L:W = 3:1 A = 3WW A = 3W2

210 = 3w2 w = 8.3 m
L = 25 m
Now weir Length
Weir length =

5250
250

= 21 m

Q
weir loading rate