Other Effects on the Enviroment

Sludge Adds To The Landfills

Affects Of Waste Water Treatment On The Enviroment

The treatment of waste water is a good thing for us but It isn't so great for the environment. Some of the Negative effects of waste water treatment on the environment are as follows.

~ The waste water that is released into the water is not 100% free of the harmful bacteria and pollutants ~ The treatment plants take up a lot of space and to make the space habitats had to be destroyed
~ The process to treat the water produces large amounts carbon dioxide and methane
~ The sludge produced by the treatment adds to the buildup of landfills
~ The sludge can release harmful pollutants into the air
~ The fertilizer produced from the sludge is responsible for the excess amounts of atmosphere in the atmosphere
~ The treated water being dumped into the water bodies can be heated. This will cause the temp of thw water to increase. This can cause the death of many fish because there is less oxygen in the water and there bodies require more oxygen therefor they suffocate

After The Water Is Treated

You have now learned about how the water is treated but what happens after the water is treated ?
After the water is treated it is discharged into water ways or can be sent to the industries. You also learned about sludge. After the treatment the sludge is transferred to digesters were it sit's for a couple of days. The sludge sitting in the digesters produces methane wich can be used to power the treatment. Another product is biosolids wich is normally transported and used as fertilizer.

Waste water treatment video

Process Of Waste Water Treatment

Waste water goes through a long process before it is released back into the water system. The process Is so long and exact because the untreated sewage water is very toxic. The process i am about to describe begins when the water is already at the treatment plant.



Step1.Coarse solids are screened out of the water (i.e. rocks, plastic) and grit (i.e. gravel) these materials are sent to landfills

Step2. Primary treatment ; waste water is screened and processes are preformed to remove crude soils     and skims of grease, oils and fats

Step3. The water is put into settling tanks for several hours. During this time the heavy solids fall to the bottom of the tank. This substance is know as primary sludge.

Step4. The material that stays at the surface of the water is removed


Step5. The sludge and materials removed from the surface are most typically pumped or trucked to a     solid treatment processing plant.

Step6. Than the water goes through biological treatment were the water is treated using bacteria          


Step7. The water is clarified by separating treated water from bacteria cells using gravity.


Step8. The bacteria and waste is sent to separate solid treatment facilities or treated on site.


Step9. The water is further treated by removing nitrogen, phosphorus, and any other harmful substances that may be left in the water such as disease causing organisms and viruses.


Step10. The water i exported to were it is needed.

Oil From Cars Ends Up In Waste Water