How Can Municipal Wastewater Treatment Help In Reducing Water Pollution

Priyanka Khaire

November 11, 2020

Wastewater

How Can Municipal Wastewater Treatment Help In Reducing Water Pollution 

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According to the United Nations Water Development Report 2017, over 80% of the world’s wastewater is released into the environment without proper treatment. And in the least developed countries, it is over 90%.

When contamination occurs from a single known source, it is referred to as point source pollution. And wastewater is one of the well-known point sources of water pollution.

Non-point source pollution is the contamination that occurs from dispersed sources. Agricultural or stormwater runoff are some examples.

Due to the growing population and rapid urbanization, the amount of waste generated in households has increased exponentially.

Human waste, chemical cleaning products, chemical care products, medicines, and water used in the kitchen and bathroom all go down the drain and mix with municipal wastewater.

The growth of different types of industries has led to the generation of extensive industrial waste.

The used water from manufacturing and chemical processes is known as industrial wastewater. Toxic and dangerous industrial elements like heavy metals mix with wastewater.

Moreover, the pesticides and chemical fertilizers used in agriculture sometimes get washed down during rainfall and mixed with wastewater.

Therefore, all kinds of toxic waste, harmful chemicals, pathogens, dangerous pollutants, and contaminants reach water resources and cause water pollution.

Water Pollution and Its Effects

As the population increases across the globe, untreated wastewater may cause major harm to the general population.

Contaminated water consumption leads to deaths each year, especially in less developed countries. Millions become ill every year due to water-borne pathogens, too.

With the global population and demand for freshwater set to increase, it is important to prevent water resources from pollution.

The advanced technology and latest testing tools have shown that contaminants like arsenic and copper are found even in tap water, which people consider safe.

What about animals? The animals that consume water from polluted lakes, ponds, and rivers are at risk as well.

Aquatic living beings suffer a lot due to water pollution. Eutrophication caused due to excessive nutrients in water resources cuts off the oxygen supply and leads to fish kills in the aquatic ecosystem.

The polluted effluent mixes with soil, too. This affects the growth, yield, and performance of plants growing in such polluted soil. Thus, wastewater and water pollution significantly impact the environment.

How Municipal Wastewater Treatment Helps?

Wastewater treatment facilities are meant to remove solid waste, treat organic waste, and finally release the effluent into the environment.

In this process, harmful waste, pollutants, contaminants, and chemicals are safely removed.

There are three stages of wastewater treatment: Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary.

  • In the primary stage, physical means such as filters and screening equipment are used to remove solid waste like tree branches, large particles, solid objects, etc. The materials that settle due to gravity are removed as sediments.
  • In the secondary treatment of wastewater, natural microorganisms act aggressively on the organic matter, oil, food waste, etc., and break it down into by-products like carbon dioxide and water. This degradation process prevents hazardous substances from reaching humans and the environment. Biological treatment through microbes is one of the key processes in wastewater treatment and the removal of impurities.
  • In the tertiary stage, chemical methods are used to treat the wastewater, and finally, the effluent is released into the environment.

Due to excessive waste, the performance of naturally occurring microbes in treatment plants has taken a dip. The ineffective microbial community is not able to degrade organic waste and treat wastewater successfully. This is one of the major factors causing the malfunction of wastewater treatment plants.

Therefore, there is an urgent need for maximizing the productivity of municipal wastewater treatment plants and biological wastewater treatment solutions.

This will prevent untreated effluent from reaching water resources and causing water pollution.

Organica Biotech’s Cleanmaxx STP is one of the best wastewater solutions available today. It contains highly adaptable microbes, which ably degrade organic loads and minimizes sludge production.

The powerful microbes compete with pathogens and prevent their growth as well, which otherwise can cause a major health risk.

Thus, Cleanmaxx STP is one of the best products to boost the performance of municipal wastewater treatment plants and prevent water pollution.