This document summarizes the journey of wastewater from homes through treatment plants before being returned to the environment. It explains that wastewater is collected via pipes and sent by gravity to local treatment plants. These plants treat the water in three levels - primary, secondary, and tertiary - to remove contaminants using physical, biological, and chemical processes. The treated effluent is then returned to streams while nutrient-rich sludge is used or disposed of as fertilizer, fuel, or compost.

1. Wastewater –
Its Journey to Treatment and
Return to the Environment
ESI

2. 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!

3. 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)

4. 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

5. Where do you locate the
WWTP in the watershed?
A
B
C
D
Consider the four possible sites.

6. 0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
Parkway
BowieW
estern
Branch
Piscataw
ay
M
arlboro
M
eadows
M
attaw
om
an
WWTP
milliongallon/day
Capacity
Average Flow
The volume of wastewater
PGC 1992 Comprehensive Ten Year Water and Sewerage Plan

7. Levels of Treatment
Primary
– removal by physical separation of grit and large
objects (material to landfill for disposal)
Secondary
– aerobic microbiological process (sludge)
organic matter + O2  CO2 + NH3 + H2O
NH3  NO3
-
- lowers suspended solids content (into sludge)
aquatic nutrient
Mostly dead
microbes

8. Aeration
and rapid
mixing
Settling
collects sludge
on bottom
Secondary process
ir
iffuser
Fromprimaryprocess
Totertiaryprocess

9. Levels of Treatment continued
Tertiary (advanced)
– anaerobic microbiological process with a
different microbe where O2 is toxic (more
sludge)
NO3
-
 N2 (escapes to atmosphere)
– PO4
-3
if not removed in sludge in secondary
process
PO4
-3
+ Al+3
 AlPO4 (s) (into sludge)
- aeration to strip N2 and re-oxygenate (add DO)

10. Slow mixing
to keep suspended
and O2 out
Settling
collects sludge
on bottom
Tertiary process
Fromsecondaryprocess
Effluent
add methanol as food source

11. 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 (good fuel after drying)
– composted (Compro® from WSSC)
Note – Leafgro® is composted
leaves and grass from MES