cmutsvangwa:, Wastewater Engineering, Dept. of Civil and Water Eng.
, NUST9/20/2006 1-1
Chapter 1
Introduction
Wastewater Engineering
Manifest by sound engineering thought and practice in the solution of problems of
sanitation, proper disposal of wastewater and control of environmental/water
pollution.
Environmental pollution
Pollution of the environment (air, water, land, vegetation) occurs as a result of
natural activities (volcanic eruptions) and anthropogenic (water impoundment and
waste disposal)
• it relates to effects on the environment of chemical, physical and biological
change
• addressing the impacts of pollution includes reduction, re-use, recycling and
treatment of products, optimisation of resource use.
Eutrophication
An enrichment of nutrients and the progressive deterioration of water quality, in
particular for lakes, due to am excessive algae growth with all its effects on the
metabolism of the affected water. Such nutrients are growth limiting and include:
• Phosphorous
• Nitrogen
• Carbon
Sources of nutrients
• excreta disposal
• detergents
• agricultural activities
• industries
Impacts eutrophication on water uses
• decrease in water quality
• high turbidity
• reduced dissolved oxygen (DO)
• algal toxins are produced as result of eutrophication
• increase in hydrogen sulphide, ammonia, methane killing fish and livestock
• affects taste and produces odours on water
• enhance mosquito breeding
Impacts on water supply reservoirs
• algae affect filters and pumps through clogging
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Chapter 2: Introduction and objectives of wastewater treatment
cmutsvangwa:, Wastewater Engineering, Dept. of Civil and Water Eng., NUST9/20/2006 1-2
• by products of algae decomposition cause taste and odour problems
• bacteria increase in numbers and have negative health hazards
• pH affects flocculation
• high suspended solids increase costs of treatment
• affect consumer acceptability of the water
Control of eutrophication
• limiting or eliminating causes
• treatment of wastes before discharging in receiving streams
• control of nutrients
• biomass removal e.g. harvesting
• aeration to increase DO
• use of algaecides
• sound catchment management strategies
Objectives of wastewater treatment
• reduction of organic bound energy to levels such that the heterotrophic
growth and associated deoxygenation effects in the receiving water body are
acceptably low i.e. oxidation of reduced organic matter
• reduction of autotrophic substances to levels such that photosynthetic
growths and their capacity to fix solar energy as to form organic energy in the
receiving body of water are acceptably low (oxidation of reduced inorganic
compounds).
• to reduce the spread of diseases caused by pathogens present in
wastewater
• to reduce environment damage of ground and surface water caused by
polluting matter present in wastewater
Heterotrophs
Examples include fungi and algae and they metabolise organic compounds. The
presence of organic compounds mainly from pollution in the receiving water body
give rise to the heterotrophic growths. This result in deoxygenation of the water
thereby rendering the water unsuitable for high forms of life such as fish, which will
die.
Autotrophs
These are photosynthetic cells which fix a small fraction of the solar energy by
forming high energy organic compounds from H, O, P, N and S.
• The H is from H2O, the C from CO2 and P, N and S are from pollutants.
Hence the need to limit them to acceptable level.
Chapter 2: Introduction and objectives of wastewater treatment
