WATER

POLLUTION
CONTROL

CIVL270-Maraqa

Wells
Water
distribution
system
Industry
Stream
Lake or
Sea

WTP
Storage
Tank

Characteristics
Treatment
processes Drinking water
Standards

Sanitary
sewer

Pretreatment
Characteristics

Homes
WWTP

Treatment
processes
Reuse or
discharge
Standards

Fujairah WTP
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Al Owair WWTP

US Primary Drinking Water MCL in mg/L (partial list)

Inorganic Chemicals
Arsenic

0.05

Mercury

0.002

Barium

Nickel

0.1

Cadmium

0.005

Nitrate (as N)

10

Chromium (total)

0.1

Nitrite (as N)

Copper

TT

Nitrate + nitrite

10

Fluoride

Selenium

0.05

Lead

TT

Thallium

0.002

Asbestos

7106 fiber /L
Ethylbenzene

0.7

Vinyl chloride

0.002

VOCs
Benzene

0.005

Carbon tetrachloride 0.005

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Bacteriological limits
US EPA states that bacterial quality criteria for
drinking water from public supplies require not more
than 1 total-coliform/100 ml as the arithmetic mean of all
water samples examined per month, with no more than 4
coliforms/100 ml in any sample if the number of samples
is 20/month, or no more than 4 per 100 ml in 5% of the
samples if the number of samples exceeds 20 per month.
Bouwer, Groundwater Hydrology, McGraw-Hill, 1978.

Number of samples taken

for coliform testing
depends on the
population served by the
treatment facility
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Population
served

Number of
samples/month

<1000

<10,000

11

<100,000

100

<1 million

300

Secondary Standard for Drinking Water

Level

Effects

Al

0.05-0.2 mg/L

Water discoloration

Cl

250 mg/L

Taste, pipe corrosion

Color

15 color units

Aesthetic

Cu

1 mg/L

Taste, porcelain staining

2 mg/L

Dental fluorosis

Foaming agents

0.5 mg/L

Aesthetic

Fe

0.3 mg/L

Taste, laundry staining

pH

6.5-8.5

Corrosive

Sulfate

250 mg/L

Taste, laxative effects

Contaminant

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Water Treatment Plants (WTPs)

A WTP consists of processes to remove contaminants present in
the water such that produced water is suitable for drinking.
The design of a WTP depends on (1) the quality of raw water,
(2) the quality of produced water and the (3) capacity of the plant.
The capacity of the plant depends on the design period (15-25
yrs), the population served, and the per capita water consumption.
A flow sheet for the plant shows the sequence of the processes
used:

Raw water

Produced water

influent

Effluent

WTP
CIVL270-Maraqa

Contaminant

Treatment Process

Large debris
Settalable solids

Screens
Grit chamber

Suspended solids

Deficit fluoride

Coagulation/flocculation/
sedimentation (w/ or w/o filtration)
Desalination
Softening
Fluoridation

Excess fluoride

Defluoridation

Undesirable gases

Air Stripping

Dissolved solids
Hardness

Organic contaminants Activated carbon

Microorganisms
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Disinfection

Coagulation-Flocculation
Objective: To remove suspended solids (turbidity)
Coagulant
Coagulation

Flocculation

Sedimentation

minute

hr.

1-10 hr.

rapid mixing

slow mixing

Suspended
solids

Coagulants: Al2(SO4)3.18H2O Alum

FeCl3
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FeSO4

Filtration

Softening
Objective: To remove hardness (Ca and Mg).
1. Lime Soda-Ash Method
A precipitation method through which Ca is removed as
CaCO3 and Mg is removed as Mg(OH)2.
Ca + CO3
CaCO3

Mg + 2OH

Mg(OH)2

2. Ion Exchange
Ca hardness

Ca2+ + Na2R

CIVL270-Maraqa

Resin

CaR +2Na+

Desalination
Objective: To reduce the concentration of ions (TDS).

1. Distillation
Boiler

Condenser

Steam

Cold salt water

Brine
Warm salt water

Heat

Fresh water

2. Reverse Osmosis (RO)

3. Electrodialysis

Pressure

Fresh water

Membrane

A
Cathode

Fresh
water
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Saline
water

Saline water

Anode

Disinfection
Objective: To inactivate pathogens.
Methods Chlorine
Chloromines
Ozone
UV

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Common worldwide
Common in Europe

Wastewater
Treatment
System

Treated

Raw

wastewater

wastewater

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Characteristics of Domestic Wastewater

Constituent

Concentration, mg/L

BOD5

100-300

COD

250-1000

TDS

200-1000

Suspended solids

100-350

Total nitrogen

20-80

Total phophorous

5-20

CIVL270-Maraqa

Treatment Processes

Primary Treatment
Wastewater

Grit

influent
Chamber
Screens

Disinfectant
Primary
Settling
tank

Contact
tank

Effluent

Primary treatment removes about 35% BOD and 60% SS.

CIVL270-Maraqa

Secondary Treatment

Disinfectant
Secondary

Wastewater
after primary
settling

Biological
treatment

Settling
tank

Contact
tank

Effluent

Biological treatment can be done by one of the following methods:

Activated sludge
Rotating biological contactors
Trickling filters

Overall removal: 90% BOD and 90% SS

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Advanced Treatment
May include:

Activated carbon to remove organic contaminants.

Filter to capture suspended solids.
Nitrate removal

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Zakher Wastewater Treatment Plant

CIVL270-Maraqa

Design capacity 54,000 m3/day.

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Screening
Remove large solids and rags that
cause problems if passed through
the plant.

Grit Removal
Remove 95% of grit and stones,
which could result in blockages
and abrasive, wear on machinery
and pipe works.

CIVL270-Maraqa

Aeration Tanks
Incoming sewage, seeded with active
organisms, passed through tanks with
surface aerators to provide oxygen for
the degradation process and to ensure
mixing that would maintain sewage
and organisms in suspension.

Settling Tanks
After the aeration process the
activated sludge is allowed to settle,
leaving an effluent containing less
than 30 PPM of suspended solids.

CIVL270-Maraqa

Return Activated Sludge:

Some of the sludge from the
settling tanks is returned to be
mixed with incoming sewage to
the aeration tanks, in order to
seed active organisms into the
process.

Aeration tank

Settling
tank

To further
processes

Return sludge
Sludge to digesters

Filtration:
After secondary settling, treated
wastewater passes through sand
filters to reduce the suspended
solids to about 10 ppm.
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Disinfection
Chlorine gas is injected into the
final effluent before the effluent
is being reused. Residual
chlorine content of 1 ppm is the
desired final concentration.

Overall treatment efficiency

BOD removal =98%
TSS removal =99%
Treated effluent is pumped into an elevated tower about 12 km away
from the works. The tower supplies the roundabout and roadside
irrigation networks and is also used for irrigation of parks.
CIVL270-Maraqa