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The Importance of
Wastewater Treatment for Your Facility
Is
it Necessary?
.
SAMCO
Whether you own,
operate, or help manage a municipal or industrial facility that deals with
wastewater, it’s important to understand how wastewater treatment can play a
significant role in the overall health of your business.
This is an
important part of the process to consider, as ignoring it could earn your
company various fines or lawsuits and pose a potential threat to public health.
What kind of pollutants can you find in wastewater?
Wastewater is the
byproduct of plant processes and uses, so the pollutants present in the
wastewater stream will vary depending on what it is exposed to.
Some common
contaminants include:
Biochemical oxygen demand
Biochemical oxygen
demand, or BOD, refers to the amount of dissolved oxygen needed by aerobic
biological organisms to break down organic matter into smaller molecules.
High levels of BOD
indicate an elevated concentration of biodegradable material present in
the wastewater and can be caused by the introduction of pollutants such as
fecal waste or fertilizer runoff.
When these levels
are elevated, this can deplete the oxygen needed by other aquatic
organisms to live, leading to algal blooms, fish kills, and harmful changes to
the aquatic ecosystem where the wastewater is discharged.
Nitrates and phosphates
If large amounts of
nitrates and/or phosphates are not removed from wastewater and these nutrients
are discharged into local environments, they can increase the BOD and lead to
extensive weed growth, algae, and phytoplankton.
This can lead
to eutrophication, or the deoxygenation in a body of water, killing the
organisms and potentially leading to hypoxia or environmental dead zones.
They can enter the
wastewater stream a variety of ways, including human and food waste,
detergents, and pesticides.
Pathogens
Pathogens are
bacteria, viruses, fungi, or any other microorganisms that can be present in
wastewater that can lead to all kinds of health issues, including acute
sickness, severe digestive problems, or death.
When domestic or
industrial wastewater contains these harmful pathogens and is not treated, it
can spread illnesses and diseases such as cholera, dysentery, salmonellosis,
hepatitis A, botulism, and giardiasis, to name a few.
Humans are most
likely to ingest pathogens by drinking and/or eating contaminated beverages
and/or food.
Metals
They are
particularly damaging because they don’t break down and tend to accumulate,
causing toxic environs.
Some of the more
common metals found in wastewater are outlined below along with their potential
effect on humans and the environment.
The mentioned
effects are according to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (a
federal public health agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services).
- Cadmium; often used in
manufacturing batteries, pigments, and platings, in humans, this metal can
lead to lung damage, gastrointestinal issues, kidney damage, and death. It
has also been linked to lung cancer.
- Chromium; this metal, often used to
make various metal alloys (such as stainless steel) can cause skin
irritations, difficulty breathing, ulcers, anemia, and harm to the male
reproductive system. It is labeled as a carcinogen.
- Copper; found in electrical wiring,
pipes, sheet metal, etc., copper can also be used to treat plant disease,
for water treatment, or as a preservative. Copper, in high doses, can
cause irritation of the nose, mouth, and eyes. It can also induce
headaches, dizziness, nausea, and diarrhea.
- Lead; commonly found in pipes and
storage batteries, among others, lead contamination can lead to serious health issues in both
children and adults.
- Manganese; used in steel production to
improve hardness and strength, manganese can also be used in the
production of batteries paints, and cosmetics. Exposure to manganese in
large quantities can cause damage to the nervous system, leading to
slowness and behavioral changes/poor concentration.
- Mercury; often entering the
atmosphere from mining deposits, the emissions of coal-fired power plants,
burning municipal and medical waste, the production of cement, and
uncontrolled releases in factories that use mercury, the metal can lead to
damage of the brain and nervous system and is very toxic to the human
body.
Total suspended solids
Total suspended
solids (TSS) in wastewater, the organic and inorganic solid material suspended
in the water, can, like many of the other contaminants listed, harm aquatic
life.
They can also be
problematic if the wastewater is being reused for a process, so depending on
whether or not you need to discharge your wastewater in a publicly owned
treatment works (POTW) or environment, or reuse the wastewater for process,
will determine how harmful the TSS will be.
TSS can decrease
levels of oxygen in aquatic environments and kill of insects. They can
also scale and foul piping and machinery.
Total dissolved solids
Total dissolved
solids (TDS) are any anions, cations, metals, minerals, or salts found in
wastewater.
They can cause
issues with aquatic life, irrigation and crops, and they can also seep into
groundwater.
TDS can be
generated in wastewater from just about any industry.
Synthetic chemicals
When pesticides and
other chemicals are used in the manufacturing process, they can be transmitted
to humans and the environment through wastewater, causing damage to the
environment and human health.
Some common
chemicals found in wastewater include diethylstilbestrol, dioxin, PCBs, DDT,
and other pesticides.
These “endocrine
disruptors” can block hormones in the body and affect the functions these
hormones control.
What are wastewater treatment options and regulations to be
mindful of?
When it comes to
handling wastewater, depending on what your facility is doing with the water
will how you’re going to treat it. A few common scenarios are described below:
Reusing/recycling wastewater for your process
Treating your
wastewater to recycle/reuse it can be especially helpful in areas with low
water resources (for example, California that is currently experiencing a
drought).
In addition to
conserving water, this can help your facility save on connection fees that
might be extremely high due to the shortages.
Your wastewater
treatment options, in this case, will depend on what contaminants are present
because of your production process or whether you operate a municipal facility.
It is important to
be aware of the treatment necessary to ensure efficient water recovery.
Releasing wastewater into the environment
If your facility
plans to release your wastewater into the environment in the United States, you
will need to do so under a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System or NPDES
permit.
These permits,
enforced under the Clean Water Act, places limitations on what can be
discharged, sets requirements for reports and monitoring, and is put in place
to ensure pollutants are not released in harmful amounts.
Your local
regulations and the contaminants present in your wastewater will determine what
treatment is necessary for your facility.
The EPA operates 10
different offices in the country that address different regions, so to make
sure your facility is complying with local regulations, be sure to check in
with your local NPDES representatives.
Failure to meet
requirements could incur heavy fines.
Discharging wastewater into the local municipality
Check with your
local publicly owned treatment works (POTW) to be sure you’re meeting their
qualifications.
Your wastewater
treatment will need to remove the contaminants they don’t allow or, again, it
can cost you thousands of dollars in fines down the road.
Do you need to treat your wastewater?
Because failing to
treat your wastewater can potentially harm the environment, human health, and
your process, in addition to preventing your facility from meeting local POTW
or NPDES discharge regulations and causing your facility to incur heavy fines
and possible legal action, it is strongly advisable that you take the
proper steps to ensure the proper treatment of your wastewater before
it’s recycled/reused and or discharged into the environment or POTW.
ABOUT
SAMCO
Established
in Western New York in the 1950s as a soft water provider. Current owner
purchased the industrial portion of that company in 1987 to form CS Kimeric. In
1998, after identifying the need for an integrated solutions partner – a
company who could offer everything from concept to design fabrication – SAMCO
was born.
SAMCO has over 40 years’
experience custom-designing and manufacturing wastewater
treatment systems, so please feel free to reach out to us with your questions.
For more information or to get in touch, contact us here. You can also
visit our website to set
up a call with an engineer or request a quote. We can walk
you through the steps for developing the proper solution and realistic cost for
your wastewater treatment system needs.
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