Q: How much waste water do you make in a day?
A: ~50 Gallons
An average American household can produce anywhere between 50-75 gallons
of waste water per day, per person. This wastewater is coming from
toilets, sinks, showers, and dishwashers.
Q: Where does waste water go?
A: Underground
Waste water in urban areas does end up underground after it leaves your
house, but it travels through sewage pipes to your local water
treatment facility. There it is processed in various ways to cleanse the
water of biological and chemical waste.
Q: What is the main source of Waste water in the U.S.?
A: Both Agricultural and Industrial
They both produce large quantities of waste water but in different ways.
Industrial sources tend to be point sources that can be easy to
pinpoint but often chemically hard to clean. Whereas agricultural
sources are non-point sources, diffuse over a large area, which makes
them hard to control. Industrial sources come from many different
industries such as chemical, pharmaceutical, mining, oil, and metal. The
wide variance of the sources and the often hazardous nature of
chemicals used leads to much difficulty in dealing with these sources.
Agricultural waste water comes largely from the runoff of irrigation of
farms; this water often contains fertilizers and pesticides that
contaminate the water. Due to the generally wide area covered by
agricultural practices collecting and controlling this water becomes a
serious issue.
Q: What are environmentally friendly ways to clean waste water?
A: Constructed wetlands; a Mesocosm
Constructed Wetlands and Mesocosms are in essence similar practices.
Constructed Wetlands are artificial or restored wetland areas for both
the purpose of native and migratory wildlife to re-inhabit, and to deal
with waste water discharge from certain areas. The natural environment
can often deal with septic and storm waste water through ecological
means, such as plant uptake and soil drainage. This method of treatment
is not only beneficial to treating waste water, but is often
aesthetically pleasing and environmentally preferred.
A
Mesocosm is a way of treating waste water in a facility using a series
of controlled living organisms that each in succession deals with
different aspects of the waste. Mesocosms in essence function similarly
to a constructed wetland except it is more controlled and can harness,
without worry for ecological disaster, non-native species who might
better deal with certain impurities. These are sometimes called “living
machines” and can be as effective as conventional systems for sewage and
storm runoff wastes.
Q: How does waste water affect the environment?
A: Eutrophication, Heavy metal accumulation, water turbidity
Waste water can affect the environment in a number of very destructive
and harmful ways. Eutrophication is the buildup of nutrients in an
aquatic ecosystem that can lead to unfavorable ecological responses. One
such example is algae blooms that happen and can cause depletion of
oxygen in the water and can seriously damage other wildlife populations.
Heavy metal accumulation is just as its name would imply. Many
industrial practices involve the usage of various harmful (both to
humans and the environment) heavy metals. When waste water is left
untreated and exposed to other sources of water, these pollutants can
cause serious environmental harm. One such example is chromium, which is
used in a wide array of industries from metallurgy to dyes and in one
of its oxidized states (chromium (IV)) is a carcinogen.
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