Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary Wastewater Treatment
Primary, secondary, and tertiary wastewater treatment is critical to have access to clean water. Access to clean water is important to all of us because we need it in order to live a healthy and sustainable life.
Knowing the process that our water goes through to be clean and reusable is knowledge not a lot of us wonder about. But, the process itself is fairly interesting. The next you use your water in your home for anything, you’ll be able to understand how that clean water was accessible to you.
The 3 stages of wastewater treatment are primary, secondary, and tertiary treatment. Each of these stages are necessary for clean water because each one removes different levels of pollutants, further cleaning the water the more it progresses through each stage.
Primary Treatment of Wastewater
This is the first treatment that wastewater travels through. During this first stage of treatment, the wastewater travels to a settling tank where it will sit so heavy solids will sink to the bottom. The lighter solids will float to the top. This separates a lot of the material that is in the water and allows for further, more detailed treatment.
The remaining water will move onto the next stage of treatment for further filtering. The solids that are at the bottom of the tank are stay back and filter out.
You’re probably wondering where all of those heavy solids end up going. Luckily, these large settling tanks have mechanical scrapers. The jobs of these scrapers are to collect the solids, or sludge, and push it into a hopper which then sends it to sludge treatment facilities.
Secondary Treatment of Wastewater
Once it’s done processing through the primary treatment of wastewater, it then finds its way at the secondary treatment. This process of the treatment is created to considerably decrease the organic matter of the waste through organic processes.
Finalized secondary treatment allows that water to be as safe as possible when it’s releasing into the environment. In conclusion, this reduces the contaminants down to safe levels.
It can be done three different ways. These ways include biofiltration, aeration, and oxidation ponds. Let’s go over how any of these methods could be used in order to reduce the contaminants to safe levels.
Biofiltration
Biofiltration is used to remove any type of sediments from the wastewater. The types of filters used for this vary based on the needs of water treatment. It also ensures that any sediment is completely removable.
Aeration
Aeration can be a very long, drawn out process. The benefit of using the aeration process is that it is very effective. The process of aeration only includes increasing the oxygen saturation by introducing air to the wastewater.
Oxidation Ponds
Oxidation ponds are typically ponds that are large and shallow. Wastewater can pour into and process treatment through the interaction of things like algae, sunlight, and bacteria.
Tertiary Treatment of Wastewater
Tertiary treatment is the last treatment that wastewater has to go through. This is an important part of the treatment stages. The water needs to meet specific requirements when it comes to domestic and industrial standards. In order for the water send back out, it needs to be safe and clean enough to drink.
The main job of the last process of treatment is to remove any pathogens that might still be in the water.
How Does This Affect My Society?
The world’s water supply will ache if the wastewater treatment is not proper. The amount of wastewater homes and communities produce and the way they handle it can insanely affect the quality of life for everyone in the area.
Final Thoughts
Having access to clean water is an important part of our everyday lives. Without it, there would be a lot of unhealthy and hazardous ways of living. Knowing how your water is treated and safe can assure you that these processes are effective and work.
Although not a lot of people pay attention to how we have access to clean water, the process of it is very extensive and detailed for the best results and safest terms.
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