WEEK 3: ENVIRONMENT & POLLUTION

SELF READING:
 Chapter 1 – Introduction
 Chapter 2 – Ecosystems
 Chapter 6 – Water Supply
 Chapter 7 – Water Pollution
 Course Lecture Notes on Google Classroom

NOTE: You must complete required reading before coming to class.

 WEEK 3: ENVIRONMENT & POLLUTION
• The “Environment” has different meanings in
different disciplines.

• In environmental engineering, the environment

is where we live. It is divided into two types:

NATURAL ENVIRONMENT & BUILT ENVIRONMENT.

• The natural environment encompasses all living

and non-living things occurring naturally in the
area while the built environment refers to the
human made surroundings (eg: buildings).
WEEK 3: ENVIRONMENT & POLLUTION

Human and the Environment:

 Water pollution is a result of natural phenomena
and the acts of human beings

1. Natural Conditions - even with the catchment

area preserved in its natural condition, the
surface water quality is affected by run off and
infiltration resulting from rainfall

2. Interference of Human beings - such as in the

application of fertilisers or pesticides onto the soil
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Pollution:

Water pollution is the addition of

substances (or energy forms) that directly
or indirectly alter the nature of the water
body in such a manner that negatively
affects its legitimate uses.
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Components of Pollutants:

For domestic sewage, which is the main focus of

this course, the main pollutants are:

1. Suspended solids (soil/sediments)

2. Biodegradable organic matter (can be broken

down by the action of bacteria)

3. Nutrients (Nitrogen & Phosphorous)

4. Pathogenic organisms (Bacteria & Viruses)

WEEK 3: ENVIRONMENT & POLLUTION
Classes of Pollutants

1) SEDIMENTS 2) NUTRIENTS 3) TOXIC CHEMICALS 4) PATHOGENS

WEEK 3: ENVIRONMENT & POLLUTION
Classes of Pollutants – 1) SEDIMENTS
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Classes of Pollutants – 2) NUTRIENTS
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Classes of Pollutants – 3) TOXIC CHEMICALS
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Classes of Pollutants – 4) PATHOGENS
 POLLUTANTS EXAMPLES

Blue baby syndrome can be caused by 'Emerging contaminants' is used to

Nitrate (by product of Nitrogen) in water describe substances which are not yet regulated but
may be of environmental or human health concern.
WEEK 3:
ENVIRONMENT
& POLLUTION
Source of Pollution:
• There are two ways in which
pollutants reach receiving water
bodies:
1. Point-source pollution (Ex: a
factory wastewater pipe
discharging directly into a river)
WEEK 3:
ENVIRONMENT
& POLLUTION
Source of Pollution:
• There are two ways in which
pollutants reach receiving water
bodies:
2. Diffuse pollution (Ex: rainfall
causing runoff that transport
fertilizer from a farm to a water
body)
 Impact of Wastewater Discharges to water bodies:
WEEK 3: ENVIRONMENT
The introduction of organic matter into a water body
& POLLUTION results in the consumption of dissolved oxygen (DO).

This occurs because of the processes of stabilising

the organic matter undertaken by bacteria, which
use the oxygen available in the liquid medium for
their respiration. As expected, the decrease in the
dissolved oxygen concentration in the water body
has various implication

For instance, other organisms in the water suffer

when oxygen is depleted.
As an example, fish may die which in turn affect
fishermen yield thus affecting humans who depend on
it for food.
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Impact of Wastewater Discharges to water bodies: WASTEWATER STANDARDS

Wastewater quality standards are an important topic in the prevention and control of the
impacts of the discharges of wastewater.
EUTROPHICATION AND BIOLOGICAL OXYGEN DEMAND
WEEK 3:
ENVIRONMENT
& POLLUTION
Impact of Wastewater
Discharges to water bodies:

QUESTION: In which water

body does LWSC Monrovia’s
sewage end up?

Ans: ????
LWSC FIAMAH
SEWAGE
TREATMENT
PLANT
EUTROPHICATION
WATER QUALITY INDICATOR: BOD
BOD TEST: BOD5
PREFORMING
BOD ANALYSIS
1) Collect sample of polluted water
2) Measure the amount of oxygen in
the water
3) Store sample of polluted water
for 5 days at 20 degrees Celsius
4) After the period of 5 days,
measure the oxygen content in
the water
5) Compare the difference to
determine how much oxygen was
consumed
WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANTS (EX: FIRESTONE)
FIRESTONE FIELDTRIP 2021
 WEEK 3: ENVIRONMENT & POLLUTION
Introduction to Wastewater Treatment – Overview

 One of the most common forms of pollution control is wastewater treatment

The purpose of wastewater treatment is to speed up the natural processes by which water is
purified
If wastewater is not properly treated, then the environment and human health can be
negatively impacted

Among the impacts are:

1. harm to fish and wildlife populations
2. oxygen depletion
3. beach closures and
4. other restrictions on recreational water use
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Introduction to Wastewater: Treatment

 Primarily, wastewater treatment aims to
remove as much of the suspended solids as
possible before the effluent is discharged back to
the environment

Wastewater treatment is the process of

converting wastewater into water that can be:
1. Discharged back into the environment
2. Reused in non-potable applications (such as
irrigation)
3. Reused for human consumption
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Introduction to Wastewater: Treatment

 There are two main levels of wastewater
treatment: primary and secondary treatment.
Preliminary and Tertiary are also important
but the main treatment processes take place
during the Primary and Secondary phases

 In the primary stage, solids are allowed to

settle and be removed from wastewater while
the secondary stage uses biological processes
to further purify wastewater.
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Introduction to Wastewater: PRIMARY

Primary treatment removes material that

will either float or readily settle out by
gravity. This treatment includes the physical
processes of:

1. Screening
2. grit removal
3. sedimentation
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Introduction to Wastewater: SECONDARY

Primary treatment alone is usually unable to meet

many cities' water quality standards. As a result,
more stages are necessary.

Hence, secondary treatment removes the soluble

organic matter that escapes primary treatment.
This is usually done by biological processes in
which microbes consume the organic impurities as
food and then convert them into carbon dioxide,
water and energy.
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WEEK 3: ENVIRONMENT & POLLUTION
 ASSIGNMENT
1) Describe the concept of Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) and Chemical Oxygen
Demand (COD).
2) Discuss the concept of Eutrophication.
3) Discuss the concept of Activated Sludge in Wastewater Treatment.
4) What is Fecal Sludge?
5) Discuss the purpose of Aeration tanks in Wastewater Treatment.
6) In Wastewater Treatment, what are Stabilization Ponds?
7) Discuss the purpose and characteristic of a manhole in wastewater collection systems.

• Due March xx, 2024 @ 8:59am – HANDWRITTEN!

Email as PDF to the class president who will send me one email with all attachments
WEEK 3: ENVIRONMENT & POLLUTION
Useful Definitions:
• Raw water – water abstracted from river, lake or water table and has its untreated quality
• Treated water – raw water that has undergone treatment processes to comply with standards and be
acceptable for a particular use such as human consumption or industrial processes
• Raw wastewater – water that has being used and transforms in its quality thus becoming liquid waste
• Treated Wastewater – wastewater that has undergone processing to remove its main pollutants before being
discharged into receiving water bodies
• Stormwater – rainwater that flows on the ground, incorporates some pollutants, and is collected before being
discharged into receiving water bodies
• Receiving body – water bodies such as rivers, streams and lakes where effluent from wastewater treatment
plants are discharged. As these discharges reach the receiving body, water quality
WEEK 3: ENVIRONMENT & POLLUTION
Useful Definitions:
• Effluents – treated wastewater that is discharged into a river or the sea

• Sewer – is the drains and pipe that transport the sewage

• Sewage - is the waste matter carried off by the sewer (ex: waste that leaves your home and flows into the sewer)

• Sewerage – is the system; it refers to the physical facilities (e.g., pipes, lift stations, and treatment facilities)

• Grey water - gently used water from kitchens, bathroom sinks, showers, tubs, and washing machines. (No feces)
WEEK 3: ENVIRONMENT & POLLUTION
Useful Definitions:
• Black water - is the mixture of urine, faeces and flush water

• Excreta –waste products of the human digestive system, menses, and human metabolism (urine and faeces)

• Fecal Sludge - is a mixture of human excreta, water and solid wastes (e.g. toilet paper or other anal cleansing
materials, menstrual hygiene materials) that are disposed of in pits of onsite sanitation systems.

• Fecal sludge that is removed from septic tanks is called septage.

• WWTP – Wastewater Treatment Plant