Why should we treat wastewater?

Posted On: 1st January, 2020

Much of the water we use on a daily basis may go without being potable. Water used for washing toilets or mopping floors or gardening, for example, doesn’t need to be potable or drinkable. This treatment is done through a sewage treatment plant. Today, the whole world is suffering from scarcity of freshwater. On the other hand, an enormous volume of sewage is generated. The sewage is not treated, in most cases. Rather, in many instances, this sewage goes unchecked and pollutes fresh drinkable water from rivers, lakes. It even pollutes the groundwater table. And thus this water should be treated properly.

If you allow the discharge of untreated sewage into the drains or any other underground sewerage system, you are committing a crime. Allowing such water into other sewerage system or into open land is simply an offense that you shouldn’t allow. Therefore, sewage should be treated. It can be further recycled or reused for different purposes. Recycling wastewater can substantially reduce the requirements for freshwater.

So, you can see how important it is to treat sewage, especially when the availability of fresh water is in question.

How should wastewater be treated?

Sullage or grey water collected in a separate storage tank is treated through aeration. It prevents it from turning into the septic. Now it is dosed with a coagulant and chlorinated. It is then filtered through pressure sand filtration. Finally activated carbon filtration process is used. The water is kept in a separate overhead tank. This water can be used for flushing toilets as well as other purposes. This water is not potable.

However, presently sullage and sewage or black water are combined. STP or sewage treatment plant is used to treat the water. This process reduces the cost of constructing two separate plants. It also saves space.

In the present situation, where we suffer from a shortage of fresh water, the use of STP comes really handy. The plants can treat both sullage and sewage in an effective way. The treated water can be further used for various purposes.