Wastewater - Definition and Overview

Wastewater is any water that has been adversely affected in quality by any anthropogenic influence. It therefore includes liquid waste discharged from domestic houses ,industrial, agricultural or commercial processes. It does not include rain-water uncontaminated by man's activities.

There is a wide range of wastewaters and an equally wide range of technologies and techniques for mitigating the impacts of waste-waters on the receiving environment.

Contents

1 Waste water types

1.1 Industrial
1.2 surface run-off
1.3 Domestic drainage
1.4 Treatment

2 See also

Waste water types

Industrial

Organic - bio-degradable - includes abbatoirs, creameries,ice-cream manufacture
Organic - non bio-degradable or difficult to treat - e.g. Pharmaceuticalor Pesticide manufacture
Inorganic - e.g. metal working industry
extreme pH - acid/ alkali manufacture, metal plating
Toxic - e.g metal plating , cyanide production, pesticide manufature
Solids and Emulsions - e.g. Papermaking, food stuffs, lubricating and hydraulic oil manufacture
agricultural drainage - direct and diffuse

surface run-off

Highway drainage
Storm drains
industrial site drainage
Blackwater - surface water contaminated by sewage

Domestic drainage

Sewage
Cesspit leakage
Septic tank discharge
Sewage treatment plant discharge
Greywater also known as Sullage water - water from household functions such as washing dishes, laundry or bath water

Treatment

There are numerous processes that can be used to clean up waste waters depending on the type and extent of contamination. Most wastewater is treated in industrial-scale wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) which may include physial chemical and biological treament processes. Some wastewater may be highly treated and reused as reclaimed water. For some waste waters ecological approaches using reedbed systems such as constructed wetlands may be appropriate.