Liquid Waste (Sewage/Wastewater) Treatment

Wastewater (liquid waste) from flushing the toilet, bathing, washing sinks and general
cleaning goes down the drain and into a pipe, which joins a larger sewer pipe under the
road. The larger pipe also joins a major pipe that leads to the treatment center.

STAGE ONE: SCREENING

Screening is first stage of the wastewater treatment process. Screening removes large
objects like, diapers, nappies, sanitary items, cotton buds, face wipes and even broken
bottles, bottle tops, plastics and rags that may block or damage equipment.
Special equipment is also used to remove grit that gets washed into the sewer.
STAGE TWO: PRIMARY TREATMENT
This involve the separation of organic solid matter (or human waste) from the
wastewater. This is done by putting the wastewater into large settlement tanks for the
solids to sink to the bottom of the tank. The settled solids are called sludge. At the
bottom of these circular tanks, large scrappers continuously scrape the floor of the tank
and push the sludge towards the center where it is pumped away for further treatment.
The rest of the water is then moved to the Secondary treatment.
STAGE THREE: SECONDARY TREATMENT
The water, at this stage is put into large rectangular tanks. These are called aeration
lanes. Air is pumped into the water to encourage bacteria to breakdown the tiny bits of
sludge that escaped the sludge scrapping process.
STAGE FOUR: FINAL TREATMENT

Next the almost treated wastewater is passed through a settlement tank. Here, more
sludge is formed at the bottom of the tank from the settling of the bacterial action.
Again, the sludge is scrapped and collected for treatment. The water at this stage is
almost free from harmless substances and chemicals. The water is allowed to flow over
a wall where it is filtered through a bed of sand to remove any additional particles.
The filtered water is then released into the river.

Important facts of water pollution.

40% of Americas rivers and 46% of Americas lakes are too polluted for fishing,
swimming, or aquatic life.
1.2 trillion gallons of untreated sewage, storm
water, and industrial waste are discharged into US
waters annually.
Source: Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO),
http://www.epa.gov/nrmrl/wswrd/wq/
stormwater/cso.pdf

Polluted drinking waters are a problem for about

half of the worlds population. Each year there are
about 250 million cases of water-based diseases, resulting in roughly 5 to 10 million
deaths.
Source: Top Facts about Pollution., http://theexpeditionproject.com/info/top-enviro-stuff/522-topfacts-about-pollution

In 2010, there was a huge oil spill in America by BP. Of the 400 miles of Louisiana
coast, approximately 125 miles have been polluted by the oil spill. Over 1,000 animals
(birds, turtles, mammals) have been reported dead, including many already on the
endangered species list. Of the animals affected by the spill that are still alive only
about 6% have been reported cleaned, but many biologists and other scientists predict
they will die too. In November 2012, BP agreed a settlement with the US government
worth $4.5bn, including a $1.26bn criminal fine.
Source: River Pollution., http://prezi.com/q1rbkwvv6xqi/river-pollution/

In April 2010, The Transocean Oil Rig exploded, killing 11 workers. The disaster also
damaged the Gulf of Mexico coast causing one of the biggest environmental disasters in
US history. In January 2013, the company paid $400m (248m) in criminal penalties
and a $1bn civil fine after pleading guilty to violating the Clean Water Act.
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-13123036

In developing countries, 70% of industrial wastes are dumped untreated into waters
where they pollute the usable water supply.
Source: WWAP

How the world uses freshwater:

about 70 percent for irrigation
about 22 percent for industry
about 8 percent for domestic use
Source: World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP)

27% of the urban population in the developing world do not have piped water in
their homes. Source: UNESCO
A lack of safe water and sanitation in cities leads to cholera, malariaand
diarrhoea. Source: WHO
In March 2011, a very powerful earthquake in the sea (tsunami) hit the Japan
coast. The sea level rose and water came into the land, damaging 4 of the 6 reactors in
the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.
World Health Organisation (WHO) experts confirm that there is slight increased risk of
some cancer types for some people who were exposed to the radiation. These included
people living in that area and some workers at the plant. Below is a peice of the
information given on BBC website:
"The biggest lifetime risks were seen in those exposed as infants, compared with children or adults.
For girls exposed to radiation from the accident as infants, the report found a 4% increase above the
lifetime expected risk of solid tumours and a 6% increase above that expected for breast cancer.
Boys exposed as infants are expected to have a 7% increased risk of leukaemia above that expected
in the normal population.
The biggest risk was seen in thyroid cancer, which for infant girls could be up to 70% higher than
expected over their lifetime."