Wastewater –Its Journey to Treatment and Return to the Environment

Water & wastewater management

Where does it all go!Where does the water from the washer go?

When you flush the toilet where does the contents go?

By gravity flow, the waste is on its way to your local wastewater treatment plant!

Why treat wastewater?• Causes a demand for dissolved oxygen

(lower DO levels of streams)

• Adds nutrients (nitrate and phosphate) to cause excessive growth

• Increases suspended solids or sediments in streams (turbidity increase)

Western Branch WWTP

Blue Plains WWTP

Mattawoman WWTP

Sewagesheds

Piscataway WWTP

Parkway WWTP

Marlboro Meadows WWTP

Bowie WWTP

approximate boundaries

- an area where sewage is collected and delivered to a WWPT

Where do you locate the WWTP in the watershed?A

B

C

DConsider the four possible sites.

Levels of TreatmentPrimary– removal by physical separation of grit and

large objects (material to landfill for disposal)

Secondary– aerobic microbiological process (sludge)

organic matter + O2 CO2 + NH3 + H2ONH3 NO3

-

- lowers suspended solids content (into sludge)

aquatic nutrient

Mostly dead microbes

Aeration and

rapid mixing

Settlingcollects sludge

on bottom

Secondary process

airdiffuser

From

prim

ary

proc

ess

To tertiary process

Levels of Treatment continuedTertiary (advanced)– anaerobic microbiological process

Slow mixingto keep

suspended and O2 out

Settlingcollects sludge

on bottom

Tertiary processFr

om se

cond

ary

proc

ess

Effluent

add methanol as food source

When the treatment is done…

• Effluent back to stream after– a final carbon filtration and– chlorination/dechlorination

• Sludge – very nutrient rich– applied directly to land as fertilizer– incinerated– composted

• We all know that planet earth has more water than land but sadly just about 3% of the Earth’s total water is fresh water and over two third of that is in glaciers.

• That makes it about less than 0.5 percent of our fresh water available in lakes, ponds and rivers

WATER MANAGEMENT

The availability and quality of water are being improved.

•Rooftop rainwater harvesting systems, storage tanks, bio-sand filters, and stand posts with water taps in schools and homes provide water for drinking and sanitation—•Groundwater levels are augmented with check dams, contour trenches, dug well recharging, pressurized recharge wells, and pond development; and •Villagers and development committees are being trained to effectively manage water resources, and water literacy sessions motivate villagers to conserve water.

Fig.: Projected water demand by different sectors

BIOMEDICAL WASTE

MANAGEMENT IN INDIA

)

Let the waste of the “sick” not contaminate the lives of “The Healthy”

CONTENT• Definition• Categories of Biomedical Waste• Problem associated with Biomedical

waste• Need for Biomedical Waste

Management• Treatment techniques• Biomedical waste management in

India• Environmental legislation• Conclusion

Biomedical Waste (BMW) is…

• Solid waste generated during the diagnosis,

testing, treatment, research or production of biological products for humans or animals (WHO)

• WHO estimates

– 85% of hospital waste is non-hazardous– 10% is infectious– 5% is non-infectious but consists of hazardous

chemicals like methylchloride and formaldehyde.

TYPES OF BIOMEDICAL WASTES

WASTE CATEGORY TYPE OF WASTE

Category No. 1 Human Anatomical Waste

Category No. 2 Animal Waste

Category No. 3 Microbiology & Biotechnology Waste

Category No. 4 Waste Sharps

Category No. 5Discarded Medicine and Cytotoxic drugs

Category No. 6 Soiled Waste

Category No. 7 Solid Waste

Category No. 8 Liquid Waste

Category No. 9 Incineration Ash

Category No.10 Chemical Waste

Waste Sharps eg: Needles

Human anatomical waste

Discarded medicines

Solid waste eg: cotton swabs

Pharmaceutical Waste

PROBLEM ASSOCIATED WITH BMW

ORGANISM DISEASES CAUSED RELATED WASTE ITEM

VIRUSES HIV, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis A,C, Arboviruses, Enteroviruses

AIDS, Infectious Hepatitis,Infectious Hepatitis,Dengue, Japaneseencephalitis, tick-bornefevers, etc.

Infected needles, bodyFluids, Human excreta, soiled linen, Blood, body fluids.

BACTERIASalmonella typhi, Vibrio cholerae, Clostridium Tetani, Pseudomonas, Streptococcus

Typhoid, Cholera, TetanusWound infections,septicemia, rheumaticfever, endocarditis, skinand soft tissue infections

Human excreta andbody fluid in landfills andhospital wards, Sharps such as needles, surgical blades in hospital waste.

PARASITESWucheraria Bancrofti, Plasmodium

Cutaneous leishmaniasis,Kala Azar, Malaria

Human excreta, blood andbody fluids in poorlymanaged sewage system ofhospitals.

NEED FOR BMW MANAGMENT Infections in patients from poor infection

control practices and poor waste management.

Drugs which have been disposed of, being repacked and sold off to unsuspecting buyers.

Risk of air, water and soil pollution directly due to waste, or due to defective incineration emissions and ash.

Risk of infection outside hospital for waste handlers and scavengers, other peoples.

TECHNIQUESSEGREGATION :- to segregate the

wastes.Colour Coding Type of Container

Yellow Plastic Bag

 Red Disinfected container/Plastic bag

Blue/White Translucent

Plastic Bag / punch proof containers

Black Plastic Bag

TRANSPORTATION

• Transportation of BMW can be divided into internal and external transportation.

• INTERNAL: it is for yellow ,red ,blue and white bags.

• EXTERNAL: it is for the general waste collected in the black coloured plastic bags.

Bio medical waste management in India

Biomedical waste (management and handling) rule 1998, prescribed by The Ministry of Environment and Forests, Govt of India, came into force on 20th July 1998. This rule applies to those who generate, collect, receive, store, dispose, treat or handle bio medical waste in any manner.Thus bio medical waste should be segregated into containers/bags at the point of generation of waste. Thus Colour Coding & type of containers used for disposal of waste is came into existence which is shown as follows.

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Environmental Legislation Environmental Legislation The Environment (Protection) Act, 1986The Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 The Biomedical Waste (Management & The Biomedical Waste (Management &

Handling) Rules, 1998Handling) Rules, 1998 The Municipal Solid Waste (Management & The Municipal Solid Waste (Management &

Handling) Rules, 2000Handling) Rules, 2000 The Hazardous Waste (Management & The Hazardous Waste (Management &

Handling) Rules, 1989Handling) Rules, 1989 The National Environmental Tribunal Act, The National Environmental Tribunal Act,

19951995 The Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) The Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution)

Act, 1981Act, 1981