Wastewater treatment

[charlesreed]

I am an aspiring civil engineer, please give me some information on how can residential wastewater be treated. Many thanks to anyone who will take time to answer my question.

 

[enrielle]

As a DIY tip, you can install a filtration tank to treat wastewater. Make sure that you choose the one with better internal components and mechanism because the better the design, the more effective it is to remove harmful substances from the water.

But it is highly recommended to ask help from a qualified environmental engineer since residential areas are environmentally unique. There are substances that can’t be treated even by a high-end tank. Hence, a series of chemical decontamination or physical sanitation is needed. If you can’t find anyone who can, submit your questions here bit.ly/1DlpNGt. Good luck, future engineer!

 

[MartinLe]

This is a good place to start learning:

http://www.iwawaterwiki.org/xwiki/b...ountriesTitlesfromIWAPublishingFreetoDownload

(You did ask a VERY open ended question, so excuse me for pointing you at a large book collection)

 

[bimr]

Residential systems are known as onsite systems.

http://water.epa.gov/infrastructure/septic/manuals.cfm

 

[davefitz]

The old fashioned manner was to flush all household liquid wastes to a septic tank, which would then drain to a disposal field onsite. Each state has its own standards for the design of the septic tank and the allowable soil conditions for direct disposal from the tank outlet. The most sophisticated standards I have seen are for NJ.

The first step normally is to test the soil at the proposed site of the disposal field. A 10 ft deep excavation is made to determine the complete soil profile and to determine the depth of the seasonally high water table . The type of soil at each depth is graded, and a sample of soil is sent to a lab to determine its permeability using ASTM testing methods. The old "perk test" is not used in too many states anymore.

If the soil is not adequate for direct drainage of the tank effluent, one has 4 choices:
a) replace the soil at the disposal site with "select fill" of 80% sand and 20% clay, or
b) construct a "mound system" with an elevated mound of sand, and the septic effluent is pumped to the mound using low pressure distribution piping system
c) use the latest technology of a combination bioreactor + microfilter + UF as tertiary treatment and discharge the treated to an accepted mound system or use it for agricultural watering.
d) use a E-one grinder pump and low pressure piping and pipe the effluent to a city sewer within 1 mile, but this requires obtaining city right of way for the piping etc.

"Whom the gods would destroy, they first make mad "