Contents

1 Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 2
Domestic Sewage ................................................................................................................................ 2
2 Characteristics of waste water........................................................................................................ 5
2.1 Temperature ........................................................................................................................... 5
2.2 Colour ...................................................................................................................................... 5
2.3 Odor ........................................................................................................................................ 5
3 Waste water management ............................................................................................................. 6
3.1 Reuse ....................................................................................................................................... 6
3.2 Recycle .................................................................................................................................... 7
3.3 Discharge................................................................................................................................. 7
4 Motivational factors for recycle/ reuse .......................................................................................... 8
5 Municipal Wastewater in India ....................................................................................................... 9
6 Present Practices of Wastewater Reuse ......................................................................................... 9
7 Wastewater treatment ................................................................................................................. 12
7.1 Disposal or reuse................................................................................................................... 13
7.2 Processes used ...................................................................................................................... 14
7.2.1 Phase separation ........................................................................................................... 14
7.2.2 Sedimentation ............................................................................................................... 15
7.2.3 Filtration ........................................................................................................................ 15
7.2.4 Oxidation ....................................................................................................................... 16
7.2.5 Polishing ........................................................................................................................ 17
8 Wastewater treatment plants ...................................................................................................... 18
8.1 Sewage treatment plants ...................................................................................................... 18
8.2 Tertiary treatment ................................................................................................................ 18
8.3 Industrial wastewater treatment plants ............................................................................... 19
8.4 Agricultural wastewater treatment plants ........................................................................... 20
Leachate treatment plants ........................................................................................................ 21
9 References .................................................................................................................................... 22
1 Introduction

Domestic Sewage

Domestic sewage is the used water from houses and

apartments, mostly coming from the kitchen, bathroom, and
laundry sources. Things like dishwashing, the garbage
disposal, and of course baths and showers are included in the
mix.

Definition

The wastewater from residences and institutions, carrying

bodily wastes (primarily feces and urine), washing water, food
preparation wastes, laundry wastes, and other waste products
of normal living, are classed as domestic or sanitary sewage.
The term sewage is nowadays regarded as an older term and
is being more and more replaced by "wastewater".
Water is vital to the existence of all living organisms, but this
valued resource is increasingly being threatened as human
populations grow and demand more water of high quality for
domestic purposes and economic activities. Among the various
environmental challenges of that India is facing this century,
fresh water scarcity ranks very high. The key challenges to
better management of the water quality in India are temporal
and spatial variation of rainfall, improper management of
surface runoff , uneven geographic distribution of surface water
resources, persistent droughts, overuse of groundwater, and
contamination, drainage, and salinization and water quality
problems due to treated, partially treated, and untreated
wastewater from urban settlements, industrial establishments,
and run-off from the irrigation sector besides poor management
of municipal solid waste and animal dung in rural areas.
Public services have not been able to keep pace with rapid
urbanization. Water supply, sanitation measures, and
management of sewage and solid wastes cover only a fraction
of the total urban population. There is clear inequity and
disparity between the public services received by the
inhabitants, depending on their economic strata. Slum dwellers
have always received least attention from the civic authorities.
The rapid growth of urban population has taken place due to
huge migration of population (mostly from rural areas and small
towns to big towns) and inclusion of newer rural areas in the
nearest urban settings, apart from natural growth of urban
population. The majority of towns and cities have no sewerage
and sewage treatment services. Many cities have expanded
beyond municipalities, but the new urban agglomerations
remain under rural administrations, which do not have the
capacity to handle the sewage. Management of sewage is
worse in smaller towns. The sewage is either directly dumped
into rivers or lakes or in open fields.

 Wastewater is generally divided into two categories: black

water and gray water.

 Black water refers to toilet waste and gray water refers to

the remaining wastewater from sinks, showers, laundry,
etc.

 The septic tank provides primary treatment of both types

of wastewater by settling out the solids and providing
space for floating scum to be retained. Relatively clear,
but not clean, water is discharged from the septic tank to
the absorption field. The soil provides for further treatment
when the waste water percolates through the soil profile.
 Untreated or improperly treated wastewater contains
biological contaminants known to cause disease.

 Wastewater is not safe to drink, and discharging this water

directly into the environment (onto the ground or into a
water body) can pose health and safety problems.

 After all, this water is part of the water cycle and will
eventually make its way into a source for our water supply.

 The wastewater must be properly managed to protect

human and environmental health and safety.
2 Characteristics of waste water
2.1 Temperature
Changes in waste water temperatures affect the settling rates,
dissolved oxygen levels, and biological action.
The temperature of wastewater becomes extremely important
in certain wastewater operations has sedimentation tanks and
recirculation filters.

2.2 Colour
The colour of waste water containing Dissolved Oxygen (DO) is
normally gray.
Black – colored waste water usually accompanied by foul
odors, containing little or no DO, is said to be septic.

2.3 Odor
Domestic waste water has a musty odor.
Bubbling gas and foul odor may indicate industrial wastes,
anaerobic (septic) conditions,.
3 Waste water management

Wastewater management encompasses a broad range of

efforts that promote effective and responsible water use,
treatment, and disposal and encourage the protection and
restoration of watersheds.

3.1 Reuse
• Some relatively clean wastewater can be reused without
treatment
• Gray water is wastewater generated by washing, laundry, and
bathing (not from toilets)
•50-80% of domestic wastewater •Reused for irrigation or
flushing toilets
3.2 Recycle
• Wastewater can be treated (on-site or off-site) and reused for
nondrinking purposes
•Closed-loop treatment systems are often used to capture,
treat, and reuse wastewater on-site
•Wastewater reclamation involves treating the wastewater and
using it for a different purpose

3.3 Discharge
• Wastewater is transported to an (on- site or off-site) treatment
facility, treated, and discharged into a water body
• These treated water can be discharged and reused, which
can be used for watering in gardens or other washing purposes
4 Motivational factors for recycle/ reuse

Motivational factors for recycle/ reuse • In order to avoid

environmental problems arising due to discharge of
treated/untreated wastewater to the environment is another
factor that encourages reuse. While the nutrients in wastewater
can assist plant growth when reused for irrigation, their
disposal, in extreme cases, is detrimental to ecosystems of the
receiving environment.
Major among the motivational factors for wastewater
recycle/reuse are:
– Opportunities to augment limited primary water sources;
– Prevention of excessive diversion of water from alternative
uses, including the natural environment;
– Possibilities to manage in-situ water sources;
– Minimization of infrastructure costs, including total treatment
and discharge costs;
– Reduction and elimination of discharges of wastewater
(treated or untreated) into receiving environment;
• Reuse of wastewater can be a supplementary source to
existing water sources, especially in arid/semi-arid climatic
regions. RECYCLE/ REUSE are considered as a method of
water resource management.
5 Municipal Wastewater in India
It is expected that, Gross wastewater generation (mld) by 2051
in India will reach to 120000 mld. It is estimated that about
38,254 million liters per day (mld) of wastewater is generated in
urban centres comprising Class I cities and Class II towns
having population of more than 50,000 (accounting for more
than 70 per cent of the total urban population).

6 Present Practices of Wastewater Reuse

The volume of wastewater generated by domestic, industrial,
and commercial sources has increased with population,
urbanization, improved living conditions, and economic
development. The productive use of wastewater has also
increased, as millions of small-scale farmers in urban and peri-
urban areas of developing countries depend on wastewater or
wastewater polluted water sources to irrigate high-value edible
crops for urban markets, often because they have no
alternative sources of irrigation water. Conventionally, sewage
is collected through a vast network of sewerage systems and
transported to a centralized treatment plant, which is resource
intensive. Instead of transporting it long distance for centralized
treatment, the Central Pollution Control Board is promoting
decentralized treatment at the local level using technology
based on natural processes. After proper treatment, sewage
can be used in pisciculture, irrigation, forestry, and horticulture.
Its conventional treatment generates sludge, which acts as
manure. The sludge can also be used for energy recovery.
Some STPs in the country are recovering this energy and
utilizing it. Municipal wastewater can be recycled for irrigation
purposes or for usage in industry/thermal power stations as
utility water (cooling towers/boilers). The wastewater may be
given some form of terminal treatment before its application on
land. The remaining nutrients, organics, and water enter the
natural system of recycling and are used by plants and
microbes in soil or are retained by the soil. In the process,
excess water percolates through the soil medium, gets
renovated, and ultimately recharges the groundwater. The
principal of reuse/recycling of wastewater differs from the age-
old sewage farming practices as the present technology, that is,
‘Land Treatment’ means a controlled application of pre-treated
wastewater on land surface to achieve a designated degree of
treatment through natural bio-geochemical process wastewater
reuse. This involves: (i) slow rate(SR)—(a) treatment of applied
wastewater based on assimilative capacity of soil, (b) economic
return from reuse of water and nutrients to produce marketable
crops, (c) water conservation; (ii) rapid infiltration (RF)—(a)
groundwater recharge, (b) recovery of renovated water; and (iii)
overland fl ow (OF)—(a) wastewater treatment with the help of
low permeable and sloping land, (b) recycling of renovated
water from the system, (c) crop production. New generation of
sewage treatment technologies such as membrane bioreactor
(MBR) can treat the wastewater near to the quality of river
water. With suitable renovation this treated sewage can also
recharge flood plains of river in e systems to ensure perennial
flow of rivers. It is pertinent to mention that the cost for
activated sludge process is around Rs 90 lakh to 1 crore for 1
MLD sewage while that for MBR is Rs 1.3–1.5 crore for 1 MLD
sewage. If the treated sewage from MBR technique is recycled
to industry as a substitute of fresh water for non process uses
the revenue generation shall be significant. In fact there shall
be a paradigm shift with respect to sewage management; that
is, from sewage treatment to sewage reuse and recycling.
There are several opportunities for improving wastewater
irrigation practices via improved policies, institutional dialogue,
and financial mechanisms, which would reduce risks in
agriculture. Effluent standards combined with incentives or
enforcement can motivate improvements in water management
by household and industrial sectors discharging wastewater
from point sources. Segregation of chemical pollutants from
urban wastewater facilitates treatment and reduces risk.
Strengthening institutional capacity and establishing links
between water delivery and sanitation sectors through inter-
institutional coordination leads to more efficient management of
wastewater and risk reduction.
7 Wastewater treatment
Wastewater treatment is a process used to
convert wastewater into an effluent (out flowing of water to a
receiving body of water) that can be returned to the water cycle
with minimal impact on the environment or directly reused. The
latter is called water reclamation because treated wastewater
can then be used for other purposes. The treatment process
takes place in a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP), often
referred to as a Water Resource Recovery Facility (WRRF) or
a sewage treatment plant. Pollutants in municipal wastewater
(households and small industries) are removed or broken
down.
The treatment of wastewater is part of the overarching field
of sanitation. Sanitation also includes the management
of human waste and solid waste as well as storm
water (drainage) management. By-products from wastewater
treatment plants, such as screenings, grit and sewage
sludge may also be treated in a wastewater treatment plant.
7.1 Disposal or reuse
Although disposal or reuse occurs after treatment, it must be
considered first. Since disposal or reuse are the objectives of
wastewater treatment, disposal or reuse options are the basis
for treatment decisions. Acceptable impurity concentrations
may vary with the type of use or location of disposal.
Transportation costs often make acceptable impurity
concentrations dependent upon location of disposal, but
expensive treatment requirements may encourage selection of
a disposal location on the basis of impurity concentrations.
Ocean disposal is subject to international treaty requirements.
International treaties may also regulate disposal into rivers
crossing international borders. Water bodies entirely within the
jurisdiction of a single nation may be subject to regulations of
multiple local governments. Acceptable impurity concentrations
may vary widely among different jurisdictions for disposal of
wastewater to evaporation ponds, infiltration basins, or injection
wells.
7.2 Processes used
7.2.1 Phase separation

Clarifiers are widely used for wastewater treatment

Phase separation transfers impurities into a non-aqueous

phase. Phase separation may occur at intermediate points in a
treatment sequence to remove solids generated
during oxidation or polishing. Grease and oil may be recovered
for fuel or saponification. Solids often require dewatering of
sludge in a wastewater treatment plant. Disposal options for
dried solids vary with the type and concentration of impurities
removed from water.
Production of waste brine, however, may discourage
wastewater treatment removing dissolved inorganic solids from
water by methods like ion exchange, reverse osmosis,
and distillation.
7.2.2 Sedimentation
Solids and non-polar liquids may be removed from wastewater
by gravity when density differences are sufficient to overcome
dispersion by turbulence. Gravity separation of solids is the
primary treatment of sewage, where the unit process is called
"primary settling tanks" or "primary sedimentation tanks". It is
also widely used for the treatment of other wastewaters. Solids
that are heavier than water will accumulate at the bottom of
quiescent settling basins. More complex clarifiers also have
skimmers to simultaneously remove floating grease like soap
scum and solids like feathers or wood chips. Containers like
the API oil-water separator are specifically designed to
separate non-polar liquids.[3]

Primary settling tank of wastewater treatment plant in Dresden-Kaditz, Germany

7.2.3 Filtration
Colloidal suspensions of fine solids may be removed
by filtration through fine physical barriers distinguished from
coarser screens or sieves by the ability to remove particles
smaller than the openings through which the water passes.
Other types of water filters remove impurities by chemical or
biological processes described below.
7.2.4 Oxidation
Oxidation reduces the biochemical oxygen demand of
wastewater, and may reduce the toxicity of some
impurities. Secondary treatment converts organic compounds
into carbon dioxide, water, and bio solids. Chemical oxidation is
widely used for disinfection.

Aeration tank of an activated sludge process at the wastewater

treatment plant in Dresden-Kaditz, Germany

7.2.4.1 Biochemical oxidation

7.2.4.1.1 Secondary treatment
Secondary treatment by biochemical oxidation of dissolved and
colloidal organic compounds is widely used in sewage
treatment and is applicable to some agricultural and industrial
wastewaters. Biological oxidation will preferentially remove
organic compounds useful as a food supply for the
treatment ecosystem. Concentration of some less digestible
compounds may be reduced by co-metabolism. Removal
efficiency is limited by the minimum food concentration required
to sustain the treatment ecosystem.
Chemical oxidation
7.2.4.1.2 Redox
Chemical oxidation may remove some persistent organic
pollutants and concentrations remaining after biochemical
oxidation. Disinfection by chemical oxidation kills bacteria and
microbial pathogens by adding ozone, chlorine or
hypochlorite to wastewater.

7.2.5 Polishing
Polishing refers to treatments made following the above
methods. These treatments may also be used independently
for some industrial wastewater. Chemical
reduction or pH adjustment minimizes chemical reactivity of
wastewater following chemical oxidation. Carbon
filtering removes remaining contaminants and impurities by
chemical absorption onto activated carbon. Filtration through
sand (calcium carbonate) or fabric filters is the most common
method used in municipal wastewater treatment
8 Wastewater treatment plants
For plant species utilized in water treatment, see Organisms
involved in water purification.
Wastewater treatment plants may be distinguished by the type
of wastewater to be treated, i.e. whether it is sewage, industrial
wastewater, agricultural wastewater or leachate.

Overview of the wastewater treatment plant of Antwerpen-Zuid,

located in the south of the agglomeration of Antwerp (Belgium)
8.1 Sewage treatment plants
A typical municipal sewage treatment plant in an industrialized
country may include primary treatment to remove solid
material, secondary treatment to digest dissolved and
suspended organic material as well as the nutrients nitrogen
and phosphorus, and – sometimes but not always – disinfection
to kill pathogenic bacteria. The sewage sludge that is produced
in sewage treatment plants undergoes sludge treatment. Larger
municipalities often include factories discharging industrial
wastewater into the municipal sewer system. The term "sewage
treatment plant" is now often replaced with the term
"wastewater treatment plant". Sewage can also be treated by
processes using "Nature-based solutions".

8.2 Tertiary treatment

Tertiary treatment is a term applied to polishing methods used
following a traditional sewage treatment sequence. Tertiary
treatment is being increasingly applied in industrialized
countries and most common technologies are micro
filtration or synthetic membranes. After membrane filtration, the
treated wastewater is nearly indistinguishable from waters of
natural origin of drinking quality (without its
minerals). Nitrates can be removed from wastewater by natural
processes in wetlands but also via microbial denitrification.
Ozone wastewater treatment is also growing in popularity, and
requires the use of an ozone generator, which decontaminates
the water as ozone bubbles percolate through the tank, but this
treatment is energy intensive. The latest, and very promising
treatment technology is the use aerobic granulation.

8.3 Industrial wastewater treatment plants

Disposal of wastewaters from an industrial plant is a difficult
and costly problem. Most petroleum refineries, chemical
and petrochemical plants have onsite facilities to treat their
wastewaters so that the pollutant concentrations in the treated
wastewater comply with the local and/or national regulations
regarding disposal of wastewaters into community treatment
plants or into rivers, lakes or oceans. Constructed wetlands are
being used in an increasing number of cases as they provided
high quality and productive on-site treatment. Other industrial
processes that produce a lot of waste-waters such as paper
and pulp production has created environmental concern,
leading to development of processes to recycle water use
within plants before they have to be cleaned and disposed.
Industrial wastewater treatment plants are required where
municipal sewage treatment plants are unavailable or cannot
adequately treat specific industrial wastewaters. Industrial
wastewater plants may reduce raw water costs by converting
selected wastewaters to reclaimed water used for different
purposes. Industrial wastewater treatment plants may reduce
wastewater treatment charges collected by municipal sewage
treatment plants by pre-treating wastewaters to reduce
concentrations of pollutants measured to determine user fees.
Although economies of scale may favour use of a large
municipal sewage treatment plant for disposal of small volumes
of industrial wastewater, industrial wastewater treatment and
disposal may be less expensive than correctly apportioned
costs for larger volumes of industrial wastewater not requiring
the conventional sewage treatment sequence of a small
municipal sewage treatment plant.
An industrial wastewater treatment plant may include one or
more of the following rather than the conventional primary,
secondary, and disinfection sequence of sewage treatment:

 An API oil-water separator, for removing separate phase oil

from wastewater.
 A clarifier, for removing solids from wastewater.
 A roughing filter, to reduce the biochemical oxygen
demand of wastewater.
 A carbon filtration plant, to remove toxic dissolved organic
compounds from wastewater.
 An advanced electrodialysis reversal (EDR) system with ion
exchange membranes.

8.4 Agricultural wastewater treatment plants

Agricultural wastewater treatment for continuous confined

animal operations like milk and egg production may be
performed in plants using mechanized treatment units similar to
those described under industrial wastewater; but where land is
available for ponds, settling basins and facultative lagoons may
have lower operational costs for seasonal use conditions from
breeding or harvest cycles.
Leachate treatment plants
Leachate treatment plants are used to treat leachate
from landfills. Treatment options include: biological treatment,
mechanical treatment by ultra filtration, treatment with active
carbon filters and reverse osmosis using disc tube module
technology.
9 References

1. Wikipedia
2. Online links
a. http://www.unwater.org/app/uploads/2017/05/UN-
Water_Analytical_Brief_Wastewater_Management.p
df
b. http://efc.syr.edu/wp-
content/uploads/2015/03/Chapter1-web.pdf
c. https://www.slideshare.net/samyukthasamy1/waste-
water-management-57676558
d. https://www.greenfacts.org/en/wastewater-
management/l-2/index.htm
3. News Articles