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“Let’s talk about poop, baby”

“Let’s talk about poop, baby”. The day every five-year old boy dreams of …. Warm Up. True/False. Shower, sink, and toilet water leave your home through the same pipe. Where does wastewater from your home go?. ?. ?. Not in here, buddy.

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“Let’s talk about poop, baby”

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  1. “Let’s talk about poop, baby” The day every five-year old boy dreams of…

  2. Warm Up • True/False. Shower, sink, and toilet water leave your home through the same pipe. • Where does wastewater from your home go? ? ?

  3. Not in here, buddy • Developing world: human waste disposal similar to pre-modern times • Waste Ditches and cesspools • Outhouses • 1596- John Harington designed the toilet; Thomas Crapper an early toilet maker in U.K. • “The Great Stink” of 1858- London smelled so bad the government decided to construct an underground sewer for the city

  4. Cesspool Design

  5. Wastewater- water that contains waste from homes or industry Goal of WWT- make water clean enough to return to a water source (river or lake) without damaging ecosystem Wastewater Treatment

  6. Primary Treatment • Filtration- wastewater passed through large screen to remove solid objects • First Settling Tank (sedimentation)- WW moved to large tank where solids settle and are later removed as sludge Settling Tank

  7. Secondary Treatment • Aeration Tank- WW mixed with oxygen and aerobic bacteria to break down waste biologically • 2nd settling tank- bacteria and other solids are removed as sludge • Chlorination- chlorine is added to disinfect water before being released to water body Question: What is the difference between aerobic and anaerobic?

  8. Aeration Tanks

  9. Tertiary Treatment • Goal- remove anything primary and secondary didn’t remove such as: • Nutrients- Nitrogen and Phosphorus • Odor and other pathogens • UV light • Ozone • More chlorine Question: Why would we want to remove nitrogen and phosphorus?

  10. Wastewater Treatment Process

  11. What about the sludge? • Sludge can contain toxic substances • Heavy metals: Mercury, Lead, Cadmium • Organic pollutants • Pathogens • Where does it go? • Land: hauled to landfills • Oceans: Europe still dumps 35-45% of total vol. • Air: incinerated (burned); ash brought to landfill

  12. Sludge Alternatives • Fertilizers for crops • Soil conditioner (like compost) • Reclaiming a landfill for open space or park • Recycled into different materials • Bricks • Biofuels But...the sludge needs to be treated first to remove heavy metals and other toxins- $$

  13. Septic Systems • A home WWTP for rural areas • Residential wastewater flows into buried tank on property • Solids settle in tank, liquids are distributed throughout pipe network in soil called the “drain field” • Soil bacteria break down liquid waste, purifies water before it re-enters the aquifer • Sludge gets removed periodically

  14. Septic Systems

  15. Septic Systems 1. Septic Tank 2. Drainfield 3. Sludge Removal 1 2 3

  16. Raised septic systems for high water tables

  17. When it hits the fan…Issues • Unmaintained septic systems • E. Coli, fecal coliform bacteria in water • Water-borne diseases: Cholera, Dysentary • Dumping hazardous chemicals into toilet, sink

  18. Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs) • In older towns and cities, storm water and wastewater sewers are connected- all goes to WWTP • During heavy rainstorms, WWTP cannot handle the extra load of wastewater • So…what do you think happens?!

  19. Georgia flooding- 2009

  20. Untreated Wastewater in River

  21. What can you do at home? • Do NOT pour hazardous materials down the drain, toilet, or shower • Paint • Paint Thinner • Chemicals • Do NOT pour excessive fats, grease, oils, or dead pets down the drain

  22. Wrapping Up… Complete Poop Day recap before you leave today

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