Water Quality and Wastewater Management

WASTE WATER MANAGEMENT

It is a common practice , particularly in the Western United States , to treat wastewater to a very high level , and then inject it back into ground , where it can be used to replenish the groundwater table for drinking . Suppose that you are managing a large water district . A local city council member wants to use secondary treated wastewater instead of tertiary treated wastewater to recharge the groundwater basin

Sewage treatment or wastewater treatment incorporates three steps primary , secondary and tertiary . It involves the step wise removal of waste

products from water , and separation of the constituents of sewage into its component parts . These methods are also used to recharge groundwater basin for mass water production for localities

I would advise the local council member to employ tertiary wastewater to recharge instead of the secondary treated wastewater . The first reason is because of the associated improved level of purity associated with the procedure . Processes in tertiary treatment are collectively referred to `effluent discharge ' because f the higher of purification achieved by the procedure . This is important when considering water for groundwater recharge

Besides , it is equally important to know that filtration , disinfection and other method employed for tertiary treatment ensure the final separation of existing waste from the wastewater . This makes the acquired water fir for various purposes including recharge of ground water . Although a great deal of separation is also achieved in secondary treatment but it can not be compared with that of the tertiary

Waste management has become a major issue for environmental research workers and health agencies because of the risk of infection and disease associated with poor sanitation and inordinate handling of waste . By virtue of the tertiary treatment plan , this risk is further reduced due to advanced separation techniques incorporated in the scheme . This makes it a widespread agenda for many localities and states across the country

A number of water plants recently constructed make it a point of duty to fully incorporate tertiary treatment plan into their waste management and sewage treatment . It is the because of the advantages it portends as useful and fit for recharge

The quality of the water available for ground water recharge impacts directly on `operational aspects of recharge facilities . It also affects the use of the reclaimed water . Quality is determined by suspended solids (SS , dissolved gases , nutrients , biochemical oxygen demand (BOD , microorganisms , and the sodium adsorption ratio . These are considered when implementing the tertiary program

When wastewater is channeled to potable use , as found in ground water recharge , some constituents of water are of primary concern such include organic and metallic toxic substances , nitrogen compounds , and pathogens . A number of these dangers are properly handled during the final phase of sewage treatment

I would therefore advise , without mincing words , that the local council member adopt tertiary treatment strategy for water for recharge of ground water considering the advantages outlined above . It is really to cut corners with cost and technical skills , but it is...