Wastewater
Wastewater is any water that has been adversely affected in quality by any anthropogenic influence. It therefore includes liquid waste discharged from domestic houses, industrial, agricultural or commercial processes. It does not include rain-water uncontaminated by human activities.
There is a wide range of wastewaters and an equally wide range of technologies and techniques for mitigating the impacts of wastewaters on the receiving environment.
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Wastewater types
Industrial
- Organic - bio-degradable - includes abbatoirs, creameries, ice-cream manufacture
- Organic - non bio-degradable or difficult to treat - for example Pharmaceutical or Pesticide manufacturing
- Inorganic - for example metal working industry
- extreme pH - acid/alkali manufacturing, metal plating
- Toxic - e.g metal plating, cyanide production, pesticide manufaturing
- Solids and Emulsions - e.g. Paper manufacturing, food stuffs, lubricating and hydraulic oil manufacture
- agricultural drainage - direct and diffuse
surface runoff
- Highway drainage
- Storm drains
- industrial site drainage
- Blackwater - surface water contaminated by sewage
Domestic drainage
- Sewage
- Cesspit leakage
- Septic tank discharge
- Sewage treatment plant discharge
- Greywater also known as sullage water - water from household functions such as washing dishes, laundry or bath water
Treatment
There are numerous processes that can be used to clean up waste waters depending on the type and extent of contamination. Most wastewater is treated in industrial-scale wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) which may include physial, chemical and biological treament processes. Some wastewater may be highly treated and reused as reclaimed water. For some waste waters ecological approaches using reedbed systems such as constructed wetlands may be appropriate.
See also
- sewers
- sewage treatment
- water industry
- ( http://www.hkc22.com/watermarketsworldwide.html ) Water and Water Industry
- water resources