Three Phases of Wastewater Treatment Process

Utilities Tech Outlook | Thursday, September 09, 2021

Fremont, CA : The method of removing pollutants from municipal wastewater is known as sewage treatment. This wastewater mainly contains household sewage, but small quantities of industrial wastewater may also be present.

Before the steps begin, there is a pre-treatment process. This entails removing materials from the wastewater that may have clogged or broken the pipes. Here are three categories of treating wastewater:

• Primary Treatment

Separating the organic matter and gunk from the rest of the water is the first of the three steps. This is done by allowing wastewater to flow into massive settlement tanks, where solids fall to the bottom and grease, and oils rise to the top. Oils and grease are usually skimmed off the top of the wall, and gunk is scraped to the center of the floor with large scrapers. The water is then drained out while the remainder of the water is treated in secondary care.

• Secondary Treatment

There could still be gunk floating in the water that didn't settle to the bottom during the primary treatment. The water is now in rectangular tanks known as aeration lanes, where air is pumped into the water. This helps the bacteria to break down the sludge bits. The more this occurs, the more the good bacteria grow and take over.

• Tertiary Treatment

The aim of this final stage is to enhance the water's consistency before it is discharged and reused in the ecosystem, such as lakes, rivers, seas, or other bodies of water. Filtering the water removes any inorganic contaminants like nitrogen and phosphorus and any viruses or bacteria that may be harmful to humans.

Reuse

The wastewater is eventually clean after all the treatments, allowing it to be released back into the area. Before this occurs, the Environmental Agency inspects and regulates the water quality to ensure that it is up to standard.