One of the most important practices is the treatment of wastewater. Water is an important resource that without life would not go on as we know it. It is involved in almost everything we do in our daily lives. We use water in cooking, construction, washing, laboratory work and many other aspects of our lives. Wastewater is just used water and this mostly comes from the households from the sinks, toilets, bathrooms, as well as business and the industries. This water might have all manner of substances such as food scraps, oil, chemicals, as well as a host of other things that can harm the environment. For that reason, there is a need for the treatment of this water before it is released to the environment. Besides it is a way of taking care of our health, it is also a way of protecting our environment.
Normally, wastewater impacts human health negatively as well as the environment. These are many and far-reaching effects. To begin with, the wastewater usually has a direct negative effect on marine life and might also hamper the wildlife population. The water might as well contaminate the drinking water. This water normally has different metals such as cadmium, arsenic, mercury and these are metals with far-reaching effects on the bodies of different species. Additionally, water has decaying organic matters. These take up the dissolved oxygen in the lake, the seas, as well as the river and this, will be a direct threat to the life of the existing biotic organisms. For instance, phosphorus and nitrogen can lead to eutrophication with many other substances having different other impacts on human life.
Water treatment involves a host of different processes. These processes include chemical, biological and physical treatment. To begin with, it is the preliminary treatment. At this stage, all the large materials are removed from the water. From there, the water goes to the primary treatment where sedimentation is usually done. It is at this point that all the heavy and settle-able. This might include things such as inorganic and organic materials. In case the wastewater is being used for irrigation, then you only have to do the primary treatment. For any other usage, the water proceeds to the secondary treatment. At this point, the residual organics are removed. This process happens in three steps namely the activated sludge process, the trickling filters as well as the rotating biological contractors. From there, tertiary treatment is done. Usually, this is an advanced treatment and normally involves the removal of all the particles that have persisted from the two previous stages. From this stage, the water is then taken through a disinfection process.
The process of wastewater treatment generally aims at the removal of various contents. However, even with the water being treated, there are some by-products of the treatment process that needs to be dealt with. One of them is the leftover sludge. It is important to also treat it and then dispose of it effectively and safely.