Wastewater Treatment: What Is It?

Because water isn’t naturally clean, wastewater treatment is critical to ensuring that we have clean water for ourselves and nature. 

Wastewater treatment is essential to having clean drinking water. If all our water was dirty, we couldn’t go swimming in the summer or even wash our dishes. Water free of toxins is also essential for wildlife. Without it, they would die. 

But since our water is naturally dirty, we needed a system to cleanse it so that we can safely use it! How else would we brush our teeth? Wash our faces? Or cook food with it? 

The process we use to clean water is called wastewater treatment and is how our daily water use is made possible. In this blog, we’re discussing what wastewater treatment is and how it works. Keep reading to learn more!

What Is Wastewater Treatment?

Wastewater treatment involves converting wastewater into water that can be returned to the environment. Here in the United States, the Environmental Protection Agency reports that wastewater treatment is one of the most common kinds of pollution control. 

Wastewater treatment becomes essential every time water is used. Have you taken a bath recently? What about running a load of laundry or flushing a toilet? All of that water can be reused. But, of course, in its current state, that wastewater would make humans and wildlife very sick.

For fisheries, wildlife habitats, recreational activities, and our overall health, wastewater treatment is essential. Without clean water, fish couldn’t survive, which would eliminate a significant part of our economy and ecosystem. Wildlife habitats house millions of wildlife, none of which could function without clean water. 

Sources of Water Pollution

So, we know that water gets polluted, but how does that happen? What causes water to become wastewater? There are point-source pollutants and dispersed sources. 

A point-source pollutant comes at the water from a single pipeline or channel, like sewage discharge or outfall pipe. Examples of dispersed sources include surface runoff and urban stormwater drainage. They don’t come from a single, isolated source but from multiple sources. It’s easier to control point-source pollutants than dispersed sources. 

How Wastewater Pollution Affects Us 

Dirty water can cause infectious diseases when consumed, and wastewater is no different. Drinking contaminated water or showering in it can cause a bacterial infection that requires medication to treat. 

But wastewater pollution doesn’t just affect humans. It can affect animals, too. Fish in lakes can’t survive if there’s no oxygen left. If organic matter or debris is decaying or rotting, it can use up all the oxygen where fish live. 

Wastewater often contains nutrients that are toxic to us but provide necessary nutrients to organisms. However, there’s such a thing as too much nutrition. 

Excessive amounts of phosphorous and nitrogen can over-fertilize the water, causing plants to grow too much. This presents a problem when there’s insufficient oxygen for everything to survive. Finally, metals like mercury, lead, cadmium, chromium, and arsenic can hurt species. 

All of these are problems that can be effectively treated through wastewater treatment. Have we convinced you of how important wastewater treatment is? Let’s now look at the types of treatment used to convert wastewater into clean water. 

Types of Wastewater Treatment

There are two different kinds of wastewater treatment: primary and secondary. Let’s take a deeper look at both types of treatment.

Primary Treatment

Primary treatment is the process that removes floating materials from wastewater. Primary treatment involves screening, comminution, grit removal, and sedimentation. This process depends on specialized machinery designed for the purpose.

First, the wastewater is screened to remove the largest floating objects. Typically, this includes objects large enough to clog drains, like a stick or rock. Next, grit removal sends cinders, sand, and smaller stones to the bottom, where they’re removed. 

Finally, the organic matter, inorganic matter, and suspended solids are removed in a sedimentation tank, where the particles suspended in water settle out as gravity takes over.

While primary treatment is essential to wastewater treatment, getting water clean enough for humans and wildlife is only part of the treatment process. The next step is called secondary treatment.

Secondary Treatment

Secondary treatment is about catching everything missed in primary treatment, mainly soluble organic matter and suspended solids. Secondary treatment involves a biological process where microbes eat the organic impurities! Waste that could make us sick is food to these microbes that turn the impurities into carbon dioxide, water, and energy.

Removing the soluble organic matter is key to protecting the dissolved oxygen balance of the streams, rivers, and lakes, where the water will be deposited after secondary treatment is complete. 

Most organic matter in sewage is removed through a trickling filter and the activated sludge process. Both methods work, but many people opt for the activated sludge process since it works faster.

The transition from the primary to secondary stages of treatment occurs when the sewage exits the settling tank and is pumped into an aeration tank, where bacteria break down the organic matter and turn it into harmless byproducts. 

This process is repeated over and over again to purify water. 

J.Mark Systems

For decades, J.Mark Systems has become an expert in water treatment systems. With hundreds of installations under our belt, we have the experience you need to ensure that your water system is safe. You can trust our knowledge and rely on us for high-quality work in everything we do. 

Every day, J.Mark Systems works with industrial water systems to ensure that your water is clean for use by everyone who has access to it. We provide treatment solutions via wastewater treatment, reverse osmosis, and various treatment technologies like multimedia filtration and membrane separation. 
Do you need wastewater treatment for your industrial water system? We’re here for you, whether you know what you need or are looking for expert guidance. You can contact us to get started today! J.Mark Systems has the treatment solution you need for your industrial water system.