Wastewater contains nitrate and phosphorus which are nutrients that plants need to grow. Usually, nutrients are good things, but growing population density can result in too much of a good thing being deposited into streams, rivers, and other waterways. When this happens, plant life takes over – crowding out the habitats of fish and other aquatic life. As these plants die and rot, they can change water PH and bacterial levels.
To stop eutrophication, wastewater treatment systems need to greatly reduce or eliminate the amount of nitrate and phosphorus which they return to the watershed in their effluent. Governmental agencies set concentration maximums and enforce them through regular testing.
For the most part, nitrate and phosphorus can be reduced below regulatory thresholds through biological processes known as denitrification and mineralization. Advanced wastewater treatment systems use highly concentrated populations of beneficial bacteria to digest nitrate and phosphorus. The former is then released as nitrogen gas and the latter, collects in the tank as part of the sludge.
Even after advanced treatment, trace amounts of nitrate and phosphorus can frequently be found in wastewater effluent. Where mandated, further treatment can completely prevent even these from reaching the watershed.
If you’re in need of a wastewater system that will prevent eutrophication, let’s talk!
Wastewater systems in the US are sized based on the maximum number of gallons per day they can treat.
A 300-room hotel, for instance, might require a 50,000 gallon-per-day system. Depending on soil loading rate*, that system might need a 2 acre drip field for effluent disposal.
Every component in our systems must account for design criteria.
Here are some factors that determine how many gallons per day your community septic or other wastewater system must be able to handle:
Capacity in gallons per day is determined by state and local design specifications.
These regulatory agencies calculate required treatment capacity in terms of maximum gallons used per person per day or maximum flow per bedroom per day, etc.
Commercial wastewater systems use more complex formulas that take their specific usage into account. The hotel mentioned above might need to account for 75 gallons per bed per day but might also have a restaurant and a bar attached for which another 12 gallons per seat per meal would have to be added.
Design criteria must also assume the level of pollution present within wastewater from different sources. Very dirty wastewater takes longer to treat which means systems must have higher capacity than what is released to give the system the time needed.
Here is an example of a design criteria matrix from an actual state regulatory agency:
Design criteria differ based on locality.
Design criteria tables such as the one above provide a starting point to determine size, but in most cases, regulatory agencies grant variances based on actual flow and treatment level.
We at Aqua Tech will research the design criteria required for your project and budget around them. As the build gets closer, we reevaluate your treatment needs and work with civil engineers and regulatory authorities to ensure regulatory compliance without excess expense.
Bottom line: Use this table to get a rough estimate. When you’re ready, let’s talk and get more specific.
*Soils differ in how much moisture they can absorb per hour. Very dense soil might only be able to absorb one tenth of a gallon per square foot every hour while porous soil can absorb almost a full gallon per square foot. Soil absorption per hour is called its “loading rate.” The higher the loading rate the smaller the drip field needed.
Wastewater treatment uses natural biological processes to protect the environment from contaminants in sewage.
Wastewater poses several threats to the environment. Micro organisms which digest the suspended organic matter (Total Suspended Solids – TSS) in sewage use up the dissolved oxygen (DO) present in the water. The rate of this digestion can be measured as Carbonaceous Biological Oxygen Demand (CBOD). Water with high CBOD can deplete dissolved oxygen in waterways thereby suffocating wildlife.
A common septic tank design
All wastewater treatment from septic tanks to municipal systems use gravity to settle out most solids. After settling, smaller organic particles remain suspended in the effluent. The settled wastewater then moves into biological treatment which increases the density of micro organisms in an oxygen rich environment. When done properly, biological treatment can neutralize the oxygen depleting effects of wastewater.
Wastewater treatment also removes chemical pollutants.
Conversion of ammonia to nitrate and nitrate to nitrogen gas in wastewater.
One byproduct of human metabolism, ammonia, can poison watersheds through untreated sewage. Beneficial bacteria naturally occurring in wastewater use DO to convert toxic ammonia into the nutrient, nitrate. That’s good, but not quite good enough. When nitrate along with another nutrient, phosphorus, enters the environment, they can cause plant overgrowth that chokes waterways. Conveniently, other wastewater bacteria turn nitrate into nitrogen gas and mineralize phosphorus which settles out of the resulting effluent.
These bacteria multiply into a slime layer called, “biofilm” in the biological reactor. Advanced treatment systems achieve high biofilm density by giving it a lot of surface area (media) to grow upon. The greater the surface area, the higher the treatment level.
Wastewater can be treated in up to three stages generally known as primary, secondary, and tertiary treatment. Here’s what’s involved in each of these stages:
Primary Treatment
In this stage, heavy solids and grease are separated from the raw sewage through gravity and buoyancy respectively. A conventional septic tank is an example of primary treatment.
Secondary Treatment
The wastewater that leaves a septic tank or other primary treatment apparatus is still pretty contaminated with suspended solids and toxic chemicals such as ammonia. Secondary treatment systems use oxygen to facilitate natural digestion of contaminants by micro organisms already present in the wastewater. All municipal systems use secondary treatment.
Tertiary Treatment
Even though much cleaner, water leaving secondary treatment can still pose somewhat of a threat to the environment. To ensure complete protection of aquifers and watersheds, wastewater effluent can enter a third treatment stage. Tertiary treatment usually involves some sort of natural or chemical filtration/sanitization. Examples of tertiary treatment are constructed wetlands or drip irrigation fields.
Our systems use all three stages of wastewater treatment to equip you for responsible growth. Let us show you how!
Drip irrigation systems are an efficient and proven technology many communities use to recycle and dispose of treated wastewater. The effluent is applied to the soil slowly and uniformly from a network of narrow tubing, placed in the ground at shallow depths of 6 to 12 inches in the plant root zone.
Because water is such a precious commodity, recycling wastewater can have both economic and environmental benefits for communities. Reusing wastewater to irrigate land can help protect surface water resources by preventing pollution and by conserving potable water for other uses. This is particularly important where community water supply sources rely on wells. The more water that is pumped from wells and discharged as effluent into a stream or other surface water, the less will be available to recharge aquifer or groundwater sources upon which future well water supplies rely.
Another benefit of applying wastewater to the land is that the soil provides additional treatment through naturally occurring physical, biological and chemical processes. Irrigating with wastewater also adds nutrients and minerals to soil that are good for plants and it helps to recharge valuable groundwater resources.
Residential developments with low building density required by septic drain fields contribute to an undesirable sprawl and limit land available for playgrounds, hiking trails, and other open space amenities. Spray systems, while superior to septic, can also limit land use since they produce aerosols that require large buffer zones.
Community sewers that use drip irrigation consolidate undersoil treatment into one region of the subdivision. This region can provide a visually appealing common area for the development. Achieving higher land use densities with desirable open spaces are important and shared goals of land use planners, environmentalists, and developers alike.
Soil reuse systems require less monitoring and thus lower operating costs when compared to surface discharge.
Additionally, subsurface discharge expedites the acquisition of state and county permits by addressing potential concerns of downstream property owners removing any reason for them to contest approval.
Beneficial reuse through drip irrigation is just another way we’re equipping responsible growth. Click the button below to see how we can equip you.
Increased building density. They don’t require big drain fields on each lot.
Longer lasting. Land disposal through drip irrigation doesn’t become spent through built-up solids like septic leach fields.
Much better for the environment. Decentralized systems treat wastewater through accelerated natural processes, thereby eliminating water-borne pollution.
Advantages over municipal systems:
Sooo much cheaper! Decentralized systems reduce or eliminate the need for miles of large diameter pipe and lift stations.
No smell. Designed to be small and efficient, they treat so fast that there’s no detectable odor outside of a few feet from the system.
They facilitate development in growth areas without increasing tax burden or contributing to suburban sprawl.
They keep water in local aquifers rather than sending it downstream.
One of the biggest challenges to implementing comprehensive land use plans is how to accommodate new development in locally designated growth areas that do not have public sewers. Many rural and suburbanized towns in the US face this question.
They want to direct growth to the most suitable areas of town – near existing services, such as fire stations and schools, for example – but have no prospect of gaining access to public sewer lines. New development must rely on soils, usually on a lot by lot basis, to handle wastewater. The conventional wisdom says that means low densities of development, negating the effectiveness of a growth area. However, towns and counties without public sewer systems have options that they may not realize.
Additionally, watersheds in the United States reflect tremendous diversity of climatic conditions, geology, soils, and other factors that influence water flow, flora and fauna. There is equally great variation in historical experience, cultural expression, institutional arrangements, laws, policies and attitudes. With regards to wastewater issues, it would be a mistake to impose a standard model from the federal level to address the needs on a local level. Correspondingly, centralized sewer systems are aging, frequently underfunded with respect to replacement costs and expensive to maintain. In addition, centralized sewer strategies are increasingly challenged by environmental and social considerations such as inter-basin transfer issues, aquifer depletion, nutrient loading and urban sprawl.
Decentralized wastewater management has the potential to be the catalyst for the re-creation of our institutions, to support a new agenda, and for rapidly building a flexible infrastructure to sustain the integrity of the natural systems that are essential to a healthy economy.
Tom Bartlett – founder and Ceo of aqua Tech
The new emerging civic agenda of smart growth, community preservation, open space planning, ecologically sound economic development, resource conservation, and watershed management demands that we rethink what constitutes assets and liabilities. With a capacity of roughly 200,000 gallons per day, these off-grid plants can be constructed at a cost of well under $3,000 per home. These are economic, environmental and quality of life issues and they do not lend themselves to single purpose solutions. They require local community based consideration within the context of flexible multipurpose planning.
Statistics have shown us that within the U.S., twenty-five percent of existing residential real estate and forty-seven percent of new construction are served by onsite treatment systems. Many of these systems are acknowledged to be inadequate with respect to soil absorption, nutrient removal, resource protection and public health. Ironically, despite these statistics and EPA policy changes, most regulatory codes as well as most municipal and commercial planning continue to consider onsite systems to be temporary solutions awaiting a centralized sewer hookup.
Looking beyond the traditional assumption that wastewater is simply a matter of safe disposal and the public health; the real contemporary wastewater issues are the economic and environmental issues in which the public has a primary interest:
Drinking water quality
Deterioration of recreational water resources and other natural systems services
Property Values
Economic development in small and rural communities
Urban sprawl
Beyond just disposal, decentralized wastewater management has the potential to contribute to the formation of an infrastructure to sustain watershed integrity. Decentralized wastewater treatment serves the “watershed agenda” and the principles of “community preservation” and “sustainable development.”
When approaches to the larger wastewater issues are successfully accomplished everyone benefits:
Local communities win open space zoning, water quality and supply protection, increased development capacity and an expanding tax base.
Natural systems are sustained through prudent zoning and reduction of non-point pollution.
Developers win additional lots for development and higher margins typically associated with conservation subdivision design and municipal infrastructure.
Regulatory agencies win because they gain partners in compliance management such as the municipality and perhaps a watershed authority.
Citizens and homeowners win because property values are enhanced as schools, healthcare providers, and retail outlets crop up around the new infrastructure which decentralized systems provide.
There are no major obstacles to a decentralized infrastructure for wastewater treatment.
New technologies in a properly managed context provide the opportunity for a land based watershed initiative that could significantly reduce small flow point source discharges such as those associated with onsite treatment systems. A decentralized wastewater management infrastructure should include:
Clustered, performance-based, decentralized wastewater management systems
Industrial & commercial pretreatment prior to discharge to existing sewage treatment systems
Wastewater reuse systems
Estimates suggest that this infrastructure is achievable with technologies that require 50% to 70% less space with corresponding reductions in cost of 40% to 50%. For citizens in small and rural communities these reductions represent opportunities to preserve water quality, to stimulate economic development and job formation and to restore property values. Essentially, we are shifting from large sewage collection systems and centralized treatment plants to small and decentralized management systems. Keep in mind also that this is not an alternative to centralized sewer. Rather, it is a complimentary adjunct to the existing infrastructure.
Moreover, the decentralized solution is coming from local community and watershed needs. It is not coming from the bureaucracy. It is essentially good old bottom-up American pragmatism. It is important, therefore, that the general population becomes informed about the benefits of the decentralized approach. We must find a suitable mechanism to accelerate the progress to support watershed management. If we can not find such a mechanism, we run the risk of letting the limited existing strategies (centralized and onsite) dominate the next 20 to 30 year cycle.
With every project being considered for an Aqua Tech System, planners must consider many factors in the selection of an appropriate site specific wastewater collection system.
Such as:
Housing density and road frontage
Size of the project and wastewater volume to be conveyed
Topography and sensitive natural resources
Depth to bedrock or groundwater
Distance to the wastewater treatment and dispersal site
The Settling Tank getting a final inspection
During the design process of your system the following methods should be considered:
Conventional gravity systems (with lift stations as required)
Septic Tank Effluent Gravity (STEG) system (AKA small diameter gravity sewers)
These collection or conveyance systems often represent the major portion of the total capital cost associated with any wastewater system, so careful consideration should be made to avoid extraneous expense while also ensuring reliability and environmental compliance.
Let us help you design a system that takes everything into account.
Several places around the US are currently experiencing a construction boom and we’re delighted to be a part of it. Here’s a mixed use system that our engineers have just designed.
This system is designed to treat 37,000 gallons of wastewater per day.
This particular system was designed to treat residential and commercial wastewater at the same time. Notice that the effluent (outflow) discharges at ground level. This is a septic system with no leach field!
Here’s the secret:
This private wastewater treatment plant removes nearly all of the Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD), Total Suspended Solids (TSS), and Total Nitrogen (TN).
The BioTank is at the heart of the Aqua Tech System
The BioTank uses floating and fixed film processes in which microorganisms attach themselves to a highly permeable media that is submerged in the wastewater. This allows for the absorption of organic and inorganic matter into the slime layer where treatment is realized. Designed properly, this filter is self-purging.
Hydraulic dosing and secondary sludge airlift pump systems are set at pre-determined rates to minimize maintenance and enhance treatment. The self-purging biological filter is designed by Aqua Tech Systems to accommodate influent characteristics and achieve effluent requirements. Oxygen is introduced to the system via an oil-less compressor and membrane aeration equipment.
Wastewater is pumped from the influent pump chamber to mechanical equipment or directly into the first baffled compartment of the BioTank. Alternatively, primarily settled or prescreened wastewater is pumped from an equalization basin to the BioTank. Wastewater flows by gravity through each treatment compartment of the BioTank and effluent is discharged over a weir.
As flow enters each aerobic compartment dissolved oxygen is transferred to the wastewater via compressor and membrane aeration module. Each compartment has an independent and fully adjustable air regulation valve. In the aerobic modules the compressor acts as a mixer to enhance treatment and prevent the short-circuiting of wastewater through the plant.
In the BioTank, the organic material in the wastewater is reduced by a population of microorganisms that attach to the filter media and form a biological slime layer. In the outer portion of the slime layer treatment is accomplished by aerobic microorganisms. As the microorganisms multiply the biological film thickens and diffused oxygen is consumed before penetrating the full depth of the slime layer. Consequently the film develops aerobic, anoxic and anaerobic zones.
Absent oxygen and a sufficient external organic source for all cell carbon the microorganisms near the media surface lose their ability to cling to the media. The wastewater flowing over the media washes the slime layer off the media and a new slime layer begins to form. The process of losing the slime layer is called “sloughing” and it is primarily a function of organic and hydraulic loading on the filter. This natural process allows a properly designed media bed to be self-purging and maintenance free.
Any excess sloughed biomass is transferred with the wastewater flow to the final clarifier as sludge. These secondary sludges are periodically pumped back to the primary tank or sludge holding tank for eventual removal or further treatment.
The BioTank treatment plants may also be supplied with bar racks or screens, grit chambers, flow meters, chemical dosing equipment, UV disinfection modules and sludge dewatering systems.
To put the BioTank to work for you, click the button below to schedule a consult.
Removing ammonia nitrogen from wastewater is a well-established and quantifiable biological process. Nitrogen exists in the influent primarily in the form of organic nitrogen and ammonia nitrogen (Total Kejldahl Nitrogen + TKN). The principal part of the organic nitrogen is mineralized to ammonia nitrogen through bacterial activity. Therefore, ammonia-N is commonly regarded as the starting point in the nitrogen reduction process.
Wastewater nitrification and denitrification take place in our BioTank
Nitrification: the conversion of ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N) to nitrate nitrogen (NO3-N) is a biological process accomplished in the presence of dissolved oxygen. Typical requirements for effluent ammonia-N are from 1 to 3 mg/l, which is reliably accomplished. Successful nitrification is accomplished with a healthy microorganism population and an environment where PH, temperature, alkalinity, organic loading and dissolved oxygen are stable.
In the BioTank system the pH is generally buffered by the carbonate system associated with the wastewater; the temperature remains consistent due to the biological activity in the plant; the organic loading is relatively constant because the wastewater has been treated in the first compartment(s) of the plant; and the compressor provides an adequate supply of dissolved oxygen.
Nitrification/Denitrification Table
Facultative heterotrophic organisms under anoxic conditions accomplish biological denitrification. In this process bacteria convert the nitrate-N to nitrogen gas that is released into the atmosphere.
Denitrification occurs by several different means and though process control adjustments. As the microorganisms multiply, the biological film thickens on the submerged media and the diffused oxygen is consumed before penetrating the full depth of the slime layer. Consequently the film develops aerobic, anoxic and anaerobic zones. This process accounts for significant nitrogen removal via simultaneous nitrification and denitrification.
Denitrification utilizing septic tank carbon is widely considered to be the most economical and efficient method for nitrogen removal. Utilizing prescribed recirculation rates this method of returning BioTank nitrified wastewater to the carbon source in the anoxic zone of the primary tank has achieved reductions of nitrogen of approximately 80 percent.
Nitrogen removal may be enhanced further in a tertiary anoxic zone located after the aerobic treatment.
To learn more about this critical process and how Aqua Tech can help you utilize it, click the button below.
