![]() This involves testing the discharge water. “To determine if adequate disinfection is occurring, we look at fecal coliform,” says Bauer. Bauer mentions that the city of Philadelphia uses either chlorine or ultraviolet light to disinfect the water before it leaves the facility. The disinfection process begins after the treatment plant has taken inventory of the cleanliness of the water it’s dealing with and the stream to which it’s being discharged. However, the excess can either be used as compost or landfill cover. Most of this sludge can be reincorporated into the aeration tank to resupply the new microorganisms coming in. “All those bugs and all the waste they’ve accumulated shuttles to the bottom of the tank to produce sludge,” Bauer explains. Warmed to around 98 degrees Fahrenheit, it will molecularly break down the organics, producing a considerable amount of methane as a byproduct. Once the aeration process is over, the bugs are moved to what’s called a digester, which you guessed it … replicates exactly what happens in your stomach. Having had their meal, these bugs are going to reproduce inherent in the name of the tank, they need oxygen to survive. So once these bugs-just like the microorganisms in your stomach-get to work, they’re able to get rid of most of their food. Once the wastewater is mostly free of solids, it’s sent through to an aeration tank, where microorganisms are introduced to consume the organic waste that’s leftover.īauer mentions that each facility can adjust the population of microorganisms based on the amount of organic matter that remains in the tank. “To measure how strong that wastewater is, we look at the ammonia and phosphorous concentration,” Bauer tells Popular Mechanics. ✅ We had Bob Bauer, environmental manager of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s Clean Water Program talk us through the wastewater treatment process.īefore the real fun begins, the treatment facility needs a better picture of how dirty the water really is. However, pumps are sometimes required to give the water a helping hand uphill and to feed it to the treatment plant itself. Most sewer lines slope downward, taking advantage of gravity to direct sewage where it needs to go. Thankfully, there are rigorous standards of quality that need to be met for water to be deemed potable these tests often screen for contaminants including arsenic, chemicals, lead, copper, and radionuclides-a common marker of radioactivity.īefore treating wastewater, it first has to arrive at the treatment facility, which happens to be quite an operation.
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