- term applied to any type of water that has been utilized in some capacity that negatively impacts the

quality of the water.

 Domestic Wastewater - originates from domestic

household activities, it can also include water that is discharged from commercial and business buildings and institutions, along with ground water. manufacturing process, can be more difficult to treat due to the examination that must take place at an industry-based level. Industrial sources of wastewater contain contaminants such as oils, pharmaceuticals, pesticides, silt, chemicals and other byproducts.

Industrial Wastewater - which originates from the

 SANITARY SEWAGE: The spent water from residences

and institutions, carrying body wastes, ablution water, food preparation wastes, laundry wastes, and other waste products of normal living, are classed as domestic or sanitary sewage.
COMMERCIAL WASTES: Liquid-carried wastes from

stores and service establishments serving the immediate community, termed commercial wastes, are included in the sanitary or domestic sewage category if their characteristics are similar to household flows.

 SURFACE RUNOFF : It is also known as storm flow or

overland flow, is that portion of precipitation that runs rapidly over the ground surface to a defined channel. Precipitation absorbs gases and particulates from the atmosphere, dissolves and leaches materials from vegetation and soil, suspends matter from the land, washes spills and debris from urban streets and highways, and carries all these pollutants as wastes in its flow to a collection point. Discharges are classified as point-source when they emanate from a pipe outfall, or non-point-source when they are diffused and come from agriculture or unchanneled urban land drainage runoff.

 -in order to prevent damage to the outside water

quality or aquatic life, water treatment is performed to restore clarity, remove odor, and remove contaminants from wastewater before it can be safely released into the environment. Usually, wastewater treatment sludge is created during the primary and secondary steps of this process.

is the process of removing the contaminants from sewage and wastewater to produce liquid and solid (sludge) suitable for discharge to the environment or for reuse. It is a form of waste management.

types of Waste Water treatment Biological waste water treatment plants: They use bacteria and other biological matter to break down the waste. Aerobic bacteria- are used in secondary treatment processes. They must have dissolved oxygen present in the water to survive. , the process is called aerobic treatment. Physical /chemical waste water treatment plant: Industrial waste water can contain chemicals that can harm the ecosystem which creates the necessity for a chemical plant to treat this waste. Physical /chemicalwaste water treatment plants use both physical and chemical reactions to treat wastewater.

What are the different steps involved in waste water treatment?

Primary Treatment: As a first step, waste water is screened to physically eliminate objects, like large solids using grates, screens and settling tanks. Some of the solid waste could wreck the treatment plants machinery. Next the wastewater is taken to a primary settling basin where matter can float or sink in the tank.

Secondary Treatment: The remaining water is then sent to the secondary treatment tank where the biological matter, such as bacteria, removes much of the left over suspended matter. These biodegradation processes also takes place in streams, lakes and oceans, but the purification systems in nature can easily be congested with contribution of too much organic waste. Secondary treatment prevents this type ofpollution by degrading most of the organic matter before the water is released into the environment.

 Tertiary treatment: This treatment is the final stage before water

can be released into the environment. This is used only where it is needed to protect the receiving waters from excess nutrients. In tertiary treatment, the concentrations of phosphorus or nitrogen are reduced through biological or chemical processes. The treated water, called the effluent, is then disposed of in the environment.
Disinfection: Disinfection kills diseases-causing organisms,

most commonly through chlorination. This step is only performed for water that will be used for human consumption (as opposed to being used for water the lawn, for example)