Wastewater Treatment Works For You
The function of the wastewater treatment plant is to speed up the process by which water cleanses itself.
Have you ever wondered what happens to what goes down the drain or is flushed down the toilet?
Perhaps you think it magically disappears, never to be seen again.
- However, that is not the case.
Disposal of wastewater is an important issue in our modern culture. Although ancient Rome had sewers to remove foul-smelling water, it was not until the 19th century that large cities began to understand that they had to reduce the amount of pollutants in the used water that they were discharging to the environment. Populations had become so concentrated by 1850 that outbreaks of life-threatening diseases were traced to bacteria in the polluted water. Since that time, the practice of wastewater collection and treatment has been developed and perfected, using some of the most technically sound biological, physical, chemical, and mechanical techniques available. As a result, public health and water quality are better protected today than ever before.
Billions of dollars are spent each year by businesses, industries, and municipalities in treating wastewater so that it is safe to be disposed of in the environment. For this treatment to be effective it is important to know the content of the wastewater being treated to enable proper treatment to be applied. It is important that each of us takes some responsibility for what we put down the drain and storm sewers so as not to create hazards and injure the treatment system.
What happens in a wastewater treatment plant is essentially the same as what occurs naturally in a lake or stream.
The function of the wastewater treatment plant is to speed up the process by which water cleanses itself.
The Denton Wastewater Treatment Plant uses the activated sludge process with nitrogen conversion and phosphorus removal by chemical precipitation.
Included in the process is a head chamber, grit removal, aeration reactor basins, secondary clarifiers, chlorination, dechlorination, and post aeration. The Plant is designed for an average daily flow of 800,000 gallons and for a peak daily flow of 2.67 million gallons.
Raw sewage first enters the Head Chamber where it passes through a mechanically cleaned bar screen that removes large debris such as rags, metal objects, sticks, and other garbage. The screenings are collected in a dumpster and hauled off site for disposal. Located downstream of the mechanically cleaned bar screen is the grit chamber. Here the grit is removed from the influent in a chamber containing a rotating paddle that allows the grit to settle to the bottom.
The effluent flows by gravity to one of two reactor basins where air is supplied in a biological process to stimulate the growth of bacteria and other organisms to consume most of the waste materials. The wastewater is then separated from the organisms and solids, disinfected to kill any remaining harmful bacteria, and released into the river.
The solids or sludge are then deposited on sixteen sand/reed sludge drying beds. By a combination of evaporation, filtrate removal, and water uptake by the reed plants, a very high percentage of water is removed from the sludge. This vey dense sludge may be stored on the beds for several years before requiring removal to an off-site location.
There are no holidays for wastewater treatment. In order to meet clean water standards on a continuous basis, the plant operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Operators conduct regular tests to monitor the wastewater entering the plant in order to detect changes and to assure that the plant is meeting its requirements for producing clean water. Samples are taken regularly and results are reported to governmental agencies.
Water is a finite source. There is approximately the same amount of water on Earth today as there was when the Earth was formed. Water is continually recycled in the water cycle. Its cleanness must be protected. Your wastewater treatment plant stands at a critical point in this water cycle. It helps nature's way of cleaning water and is a last defense against the polluting of our water supplies.
Information related to the ENR upgrade can be found here.