Wastewater Management
CE60023
Autumn 2025
Brajesh K Dubey
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Today’s Topic
Introduction to the course – Course Overview
Introduction to Wastewater Management
Course Overview
Let’s take a look at some key points about how the course will go
Class schedule:
Lectures: Mon (3pm to 5pm), Tues (2pm to 4pm)
Class Room: NC 223
Course Overview
Let’s Discuss Course Outline
Attendance Policy (Minimum 80% required to avoid de-registration), for M
Tech, MS and PhD students 100% attendance is expected
Assessments:
◦ Term papers -2 (City wastewater infrastructure, Review of Wastewater
Treatment Technology)
◦ Design project – Wastewater management infrastructure for your
neighbourhood
◦ Quizzes, Class Test, Mid Sem and End Sem Exams
SUBJECT NO-CE60023,
SUBJECT NAME- WASTEWATER MANAGEMENT LTP- 4-0-0,CRD- 4
SYLLABUS :- Waste water- Sources, nature and characteristics, Estimation of
waste water flow rate and fluctuations, Estimation of storm water, Combined
and separate sewerage systems -merits, Design, Sewer materials, Sewer
appurtenances, Construction and maintenance of sewers and pumping of
sewage, Analysis of waste water-determination of BOD, COD, Solids and
volatile solids and their significance, BOD progression and its formulations,
Design of waste water treatment systems-Primary, secondary and tertiary
treatments, screens, grit chambers, sedimentation tanks, chemical
precipitation, Biological treatment objectives, methods and design of
activated sludge and trickling filter units, Sewage sludge-its treatment,
disposal and reuse, Effluent standards and disposal
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Integrity
Academic honesty is expected of all students:
◦ No copy and paste material from web (assignments will need to be
submitted after verification from Turnitin software)
◦ It is NOT OK to copy assignment from a friend
◦ However, you don’t have to sequester yourself when doing homework
◦ You can work in groups-it’s a good way to study
The goal is that when work is done-you have learned the material
A bit about me…
Brajesh Dubey, PhD
◦ B.Tech (Hons) in Civil Engg; IIT, Kharagpur, India
◦ Worked as a consulting civil/environmental engineer at Engineers India
Limited for 4 years, based in New Delhi
◦ Graduate work leading to PhD from University of Florida in Environmental
Engineering Sciences (2001-2005)
◦ Worked as Research Scientist in Florida for 2.5 years
◦ Taught and did research in New Zealand (at UO-Auckland) for 3 semesters
◦ Faculty at East TN State University and in Canada for six years
◦ Joined IIT Kharagpur in Mar 2015
Student Introductions
Name
Major
Year of Study
Expectation from this class
COURSE INTRODUCTION
What is Wastewater ?
o Water that has been used in the
home, in a business, or as part of
an industrial process. (Oxford
Dictionary)
o Water that has been used in
washing, flushing, manufacturing
etc. (http://www.dictionary.com)
Image Source: http://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/-78-of-
sewage-generated-in-india-remains-untreated--53444
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COURSE INTRODUCTION
Wastewater: A burden or A resource ?
Burden:
As it Contains pollution
Resource:
Generally, > 99% fraction is water
Image Source: https://agriorbit.com/using-wastewater-agricultural-resource/
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COURSE INTRODUCTION
What is Wastewater Treatment ?
Processing of wastewater for
removal of contaminants
Image Source:
https://www.conserve-energy-future.com/process-of-wastewater-treatment.php
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COURSE INTRODUCTION
What is Wastewater Recycling ?
Reusing treated wastewater (reclaimed
water) for beneficial purposes
Image Source:
https://sustainabilityworkshop.autodesk.com/buildings/wastewater-recycling
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COURSE INTRODUCTION
Why learn wastewater management ?
To transform the “burden” into “resource”
This Requires:
Engineering/Technological approaches
Social acceptability
Financial / economic viability
Environmental sustainability Image Source: http://www.indiawaterportal.org/events/wastewater-
management-india-iqpc-23rd-26th-may-2011-new-delhi
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COURSE INTRODUCTION
Objectives of learning wastewater treatment and recycling:
o Understanding the value of wastewater as a recourse.
o Recognizing and the available technologies for wastewater treatment and
grasping knowledge on major tools and approaches for wastewater treatment.
o Awareness on modern-age issues and challenges in wastewater treatment and
recycling.
o Gaining knowledge on tools and techniques suitable for wastewater
reclamation and recycling.
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COURSE INTRODUCTION
What to Study
▪ Wastewater Generation and Characteristics ▪ Advanced Treatment Processes
▪ Natural Attenuation of Pollutants ▪ Concept of Wastewater
Recycling
▪ Treatment Philosophy
▪ Recycling Requirements
▪ Wastewater Treatment Units and Processes
▪ Technology Selection and
▪ Issues and Challenges with Conventional Decision Making
Treatment
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Wastewater
Wastewater is liquid waste, often produced as the byproduct of
many uses of water.
➢ Household uses
➢ Industrial uses
➢ Commercial uses
➢ Agricultural uses
➢ Livestock uses
Image Source:
http://techalive.mtu.edu/meec/module21/HouseholdTreatment-BrittaFilters.htm
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Wastewater Sources
Image Source: Irrigation and Drainage - Sustainable Strategies and Systems, Publisher: INTECH, Editors: M S Javaid, pp.55-75
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Wastewater Types
➢ Domestic Wastewater
(Municipal wastewater or sewage)
➢ Industrial Wastewaters
(Industrial effluents)
➢ Agricultural wastewater
(Agricultural runoff)
➢ Stormwater Runoff Image Source: https://www.sswm.info/sswm-university-course/module-6-disaster-
situations-planning-and-preparedness/further-resources/sanitation-systems
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Wastewater Sources and Types: Domestic
Image Source: Larsen et al, (2016), Emerging solutions to the water challenges of an urbanizing world, Science , 352 (6288), pp. 928-933
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Wastewater Sources: Industrial
Image Source: https://www.iswa.uni-stuttgart.de/lsww/arbeitsbereich/iwt/index.en.html
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Wastewater Sources: Agricultural
Image Source: Image Source:
http://www.deeproot.com/blog/blog-entries/whats-the-point- https://www.usda.gov/media/blog/2013/04/25/water-quality-
of-non-point index-agricultural-runoff-streamlined-and-accessible
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What is a pollutant ?
➢ Where it is present ?
➢ Quantitative aspects ?
➢ Natural or anthropogenic ?
➢ Adverse health effect or not ?
Image Source: http://pediaa.com/difference-between-pollutant-and-contaminant/
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Wastewater Sources: Point vs Non-Point
Source: http://www.ift.org/knowledge-center/read-ift-publications/science-reports/scientific-status-summaries/just-add-water.aspx
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Wastewater Sources: Point vs Non-Point
Source: http://ubclfs-wmc.landfood.ubc.ca/webapp/IWM/course/land- Image Source: http://pest.ca.uky.edu/PSEP/6environment.html
use-water-4/introduction-5/
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Wastewater Sources: Point Source Examples
Image Source: https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/kits/ Image Source: http://www.indiacelebrating.com/environmental-
pollution/03pointsource.html issues/sources-and-causes-of-water-pollution/
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Wastewater Sources: Non-Point Source Examples
Image Source: Image Source:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sediment_runoff_NRCS_ http://www.hoffmanestates.org/government/finance/water-
2016a.jpg billing/stormwater-utility-program
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Need of Wastewater Management
➢The discharge of untreated or partially
treated wastewater results in environmental
pollution and may have severe consequences
that can be classified into three groups:
➢Adverse human health effects associated
with reduced water quality;
➢Negative environmental effects due to the
degradation of water bodies and ecosystems;
and
➢Potential effects on economic activities
Source: http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0024/002471/247153e.pdf
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Need of Wastewater Management
Human health effects Sanitation associated risk of diarrhoeal disease
➢Sanitation and wastewater-related diseases remain
widespread in regions with poor wastewater
management.
➢In 2012, an estimated 8,42,000 deaths in middle-
and low income countries were caused by
contaminated drinking water, inadequate cleaning
and sanitation services (Source: apps.who.int/iris/
bitstream/10665/150112/1/9789241564823_eng.pdf).
➢Improving sanitation and wastewater treatment is a
key intervention strategy to control and eliminate
many diseases, including cholera, dengue, diarrhoea,
helminths etc.
Source: http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0024/002471/247153e.pdf
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Need of Wastewater Management
Environmental effects
➢The discharge of untreated wastewater pollutes the receiving water body which in turn
affects the amount of water resources available for direct use.
➢Lately, water pollution has been increasing in most rivers in India as well as in several other
countries from Africa, Asia and Latin America, mainly due to the release of sewage and
industrial effluents with no (or inadequate) treatment.
➢The environmental pollution due to inadequate wastewater management has also a direct
impact on ecosystems and the services they provide. For e.g. eutrophication, driven by excess
nitrogen and phosphorus, can lead to potentially toxic algal blooms and declines in
biodiversity.
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Need of Wastewater Management
Economic effects
➢As the freshwater availability is critical for economic welfare and growth, poor water quality
constitutes an additional obstacle to economic development.
➢Poor water quality can directly affect economic activities that use water, such as
agriculture, industrial production, fisheries, aquaculture, navigation and tourism.
➢With improper management of wastewater, external costs (externalities) are generated and
the potential benefits of using wastewater are lost.
➢An economic argument for improved wastewater management can be made in order to
minimize the negative impacts it can cause and to maximize the benefits it can generate.
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Need of Wastewater Management
Negative Impacts of Poor Wastewater Management
Source: http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0024/002471/247153e.pdf
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Need of Wastewater Treatment
➢Recycling wastewater is believe to be the most sustainable approach for
wastewater management, however recycling needs quality of water to be fit for the
designated uses.
➢Therefore, the quality of wastewater needs to be improved through suitable
treatment processes before it is recycled.
➢Wastewater treatment is the most critical step in wastewater management as the
suitability of wastewater for reuse (or, even disposal) depends on the ability of
treatment steps to reduce the contaminant load to the desired levels (standards).
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Effective Wastewater Management Cycle
➢The prevention or reduction of pollution at the
source (in terms of pollution load and volume of
wastewater produced)
➢The removal of contaminants from wastewater
streams
➢The use of wastewater (i.e. water reuse)
➢The recovery of useful by-products
Image Source:
http://pubdocs.worldbank.org/en/326201521231539309/W
B-WasteWater-Resource-infographic.pdf
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Wastewater Management: Recycling Perspective
Source: http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0024/002471/247153e.pdf
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Wastewater Management: Global Scenario
Source: http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0024/002471/247153e.pdf
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Wastewater Management: Indian Scenario
Twelfth Five Year (2012–
17) Planning Commission
(now NITI Aayog) Report
on Urban Development
highlights that 4861 cities
and towns in India lack
even a partial centralized
sewerage network and
almost 50% of households
in metropolitan city such
as Bengaluru do not have
sewerage connections.
Source:
https://swachhindia.ndtv.com/is-decentralized-waste-water-treatment-and-
reuse-system-the-way-forward-for-indias-tail-end-sanitation-challenge-7358/
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Urban Sanitation Situation in India
With the launch of the Swachh
Bharat Mission (Gramin) on 2nd
Oct 2014, the sanitation coverage
in rural India increased from 39 %
in 2014 to 76 % in January 2018,
(Economic Survey 2017-18)
Source: Strategic Plan of Ministry of Urban Development for 2011-2016
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Issues and Challenges
✓Increasing water demand and wastewater production with
population growth, urbanization and industrialization.
✓Emerging contaminants appearing in municipal and industrial
wastewaters
✓Pollution of freshwater resources due to wastewater disposal
(nature’s capacity to withstand pollution load has almost
exhausted)
Wastewater recycling is becoming unavoidable
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Issues and Challenges
✓Centralized vs decentralized management
Source: Wastewater Management Strategy: centralized v. decentralized technologies for small communities by Sharon Hophmayer-Tokich
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Other Major Issues and Challenges
✓Lack of awareness
✓Lack of finance
??
✓Lack of political will
✓Environmental footprint
✓Energy consumption
✓Trained and skilled manpower
✓Development of adaptable technologies
✓Quality control of treated wastewater
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