Water School

While exact methods can vary, here’s a general breakdown of the municipal wastewater treatment process:When wastewater leaves a home or business, it is transported through municipal collector pipelines usually by the force of gravity, to a wastewater treatment plant. If gravity flow is not available all the way, then a lift station may pump the wastewater up to a level where gravity flow can again take place.As wastewater enters the treatment plant, it is screened to remove non-sewage items suc...

Aerobic water treatment is a method of treating sewage and wastewater by adding oxygen to the waste.  This process encourages naturally occurring bacteria to break down the waste and produce a higher quality effluent that may then be treated with chlorine to remove the remaining bacteria.

Reclaimed water is treated wastewater or effluent that can be used for certain beneficial purposes, such as irrigation, without first being returned to the water cycle.

Wastewater treatment plants are typically located near creeks and rivers.  The treated effluent is returned to the water cycle by being released into these waterways.  As water sources become less abundant, many municipalities have chosen not to release effluent into the water cycle; rather to reuse the effluent for irrigation and industrial purposes directly from the water discharged from the treatment plant.

A wastewater treatment plant is a system used to clean wastewater generated within municipal areas.  Most wastewater treatment plants utilize aerobic forms of cleaning water and removing waste so that water may be returned to the water cycle.At the treatment plant, the waste is separated into liquids that are purified and solid sludge that may be used in a number of recycling systems or taken to land fills.

A septic system is an on-site means of treating and disposing of domestic sewage without sending it to a municipal water treatment system. A septic system receives the waste from a home or business and uses an anaerobic method of breaking down the waste in a manner that will not harm people or the environment.A typical system includes a tank that allows the decomposition of solids by naturally occurring bacteria as well as a set of lines or a pit to dispose of the effluent or liquid. Anaerobic b...