Did you know that untreated effluent or wastewater poses a lot of environmental and health risks? Well, untreated effluent can lead to significant pollution of waterways (such as rivers and lakes) and encourage the spread of diseases to those living in the area where effluent ends up. This is why you should get rid of the constituents of the effluent before releasing it into waterways and dumping sites. If you own a commercial building, make sure that wastewater from the building undergoes proper treatment before being released into the environment. You can achieve this through the following three stages:
Primary Treatment Stage
The primary wastewater treatment stage is also referred to as the mechanical stage. Wastewater often contains solid waste that you should get rid of before releasing to the environment. This includes thorough screening to isolate and filter out gross solid waste that has found its way to the wastewater. Examples are sanitary towels and product wrappers thrown down the wastewater drain. Moreover, the wastewater undergoes gravitational sedimentation, which removes small solid particles suspended in the wastewater. Even though the process is considered mechanical, chemicals such as aluminium sulphate can be added to the wastewater to speed up the sedimentation process.
Secondary Treatment Stage
After getting rid of the solid waste in the wastewater, the secondary stage follows to remove dissolved organic matter in the wastewater. The secondary stage is also referred to as the biological stage. The system's living microorganisms eat the dissolved organic matter, converting it into water, carbon dioxide and energy that they can use for their growth and reproduction. Essentially, these microorganisms are the reason you should avoid dumping domestic cleaning agents and other chemicals down the drain because they can kill the microorganisms.
After removing the dissolved organic matter, secondary sedimentation occurs to remove any additional suspended solids that escaped the primary stage.
Tertiary Treatment Stage
The tertiary stage improves the quality of the water so that it is fit for the specific purpose that you want. It involves chemical treatment and manipulation to make all impurities harmless, making it safe to use the water for drinking. With specific equipment and chemicals like chlorine, drinking water can be easily generated from the wastewater.
Treating wastewater not only reduces environmental and health hazards but also provides an alternative source of water. When installing the system, ask your service provider about the stages used that the wastewater will go through to make sure that you will get the right quality of effluent water that you desire.