GERMAN ATV STANDARDS WASTEWATER - WASTE

STANDARD ATV - A 201 E

Principles for Dimensioning, Construction and Operation of Wastewater Lagoons for Communal Wastewater
October 1989 ISBN 3-934984-33-9

Marketing: Gesellschaft zur Frderung der Abwassertechnik e.V. (GFA) Theodor-Heuss-Allee 17 D-53773 Hennef Postfach 11 65 . 53758 Hennef

ATV - A 201 E These Principles, in their original form, were prepared by Working Group 2.6.3 "Wastewater lagoons" within the A1V Specialist Committee "Aerobic Biological Wastewatet Treatment Processes". To this Working Group 2.6.3 belong: RBioD Dr. rer. nat. Weller, Karlsruhe {Spokesman) Prof. Dr.-Ing. Bischofsberger, Mnchen BDir Dipl.-Ing Bucksteeg, Mnchen BOR Dipl.-Ing. Ebeling, Braunschweig LRDir Dr. rer. nat. Huber, Mnchen Prof. Dr. E.h. Imhoff, Essen Prof. Dr.-Ing. Kayser, Braunschwei9 MR Dipl.-Ing. Rothe, Dsseldorf Prof. Dr.-Ing. Teichmann, Mnchen BDir Dipl.-Ing. Voss, Kiel The matching of the Working Sheet to new developments was carried out by the ATV Specialst Committee 2 10 "Small Sewage Treatment Plants". To this specialist Committee belong: Dipl.-Ing. Albrecht, Essen Dr. Ing. Baumgart, Essen Prof. Dr.-Ing. Dr. h. c. Bhnke, Aachen LBDir Bucksteeg, Mnchen (Chairman) BioOR Dr. Kollatsch, Hildesheim LBDir Schweizer, Rottweil RBDir Tiedke, Mnster Dipl.-Ing. Tuttahs, Bochum BDir Voss, Kiel Dr .-lng. Zerres, Stuttgart

The Work Sheet presented here has been prepared within the framework of the ATV committee work, taking into account the ATV Work Sheet A 400 "Principles for the Preparation of Rules and Standards" in the Rules and Standards Wastewater Wastes, in the October 1986 version. With regard to the application of the Rules and Standards, Para 1 of Point 5 of A 400 includes the following statement: "The Rules and Standards are freely available to everyone. An obligation to apply them can result for reasons of le9al regulations, contracts or other legal grounds. Whosoever applies them is responsible for the correct application in specffic cases. Through the application of the Rules and Standards no one avoids responsibility for his own actions. However, for the user, prima facie evidence shows that he has take:n the necessary care.

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Contents
Foreword ............................................................................................................................4 1 2 Area of Application.....................................................................................................4 Description of the Systems .......................................................................................4 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 3 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 4 5 6 7 Sedimentatiort Lagoons.........................................................................................4 Nonaerated Wastewater Lagoons ........................................................................5 Aerated WaStewaterLagoons................................................................................5 Polishing Ponds.....................................................................................................6 Sedimentation Lagoons.........................................................................................6 Nonaerated Sedimentation Lagoons .....................................................................7 Aerated Wastewater Lagoons ...............................................................................8 Polishing Ponds.....................................................................................................9 Infonnation for Bottom Sealing .............................................................................9 Detennination of Discharge Values .....................................................................10

Dimensioning, Construction and Operation ............................................................6

Stormwater treatment...............................................................................................11 Summary of Dimensioning Values..........................................................................13 Concluding Remarks................................................................................................13 Syrnbols and Units ...................................................................................................14

All rights. in particular those of translation into other languages are reserved. No part of this Work Sheet may be reproduced in any form by photocopy. microfilm or any other process or transferred or translated into a language usable in machines in particular data processing machines. without the written approval of the publisher. @ Gesellschaft zur Frderung der Abwassertechnik e. V. (GFA). St. Augustin 1989 Produced by: Druck Carl Weyler KG; Bonn

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Foreword
Wastewater lagoons are large volume wastewater treatment systems and can be designed to match nature. As the terms and descriptions in specialist literature are applied differently a general structure and arrangement of the various types and application cases for wastewater lagoons are included in this Work Sheet. ATV Working Group 2.6.3, based on the Working Report "Wastewater Lagoons for Communal Wastewater" (published in Korrespondenz Abwasser, Vol 8, 1979). has prepared this Work Sheet in order to provide an aid for the practical engineer for planning, construction and operation of wastewater lagoons. The matching to new developments was undertaken by ATV Specialist Committee 2.10. More extensive jnformation is to be found in the Manual of Wastewater Engineering.

Area of Application

The following recommendations apply to wastewater lagoons for. the treament of mainly domestic wastewater or comparable commercial wastewater. Wastewater lagoons for industrial wastewater are not dealt with in this Working Sheet. The dimensioning rules for wastewater lagoons mentioned in this Work Sheet are not generally transferable to combined solutions with nonaerated wastewater lagoons and intermediate connected mechanical; stages such as, for instance, biological filters or biological contactors. The special information for the constructional arrangement of the lagoons as weIl as a few selected dimensioning values can, however, also be taken over for combined plants. ATV Work Sheet A 257 ..Principles for the Dimensioning of Wastewater Lagoons and Intermediate Connected Biological Filters or Biological Contactors" is referred to for details on this.

2
2.1

Description of the Systems

Sedimentatiort Lagoons

Sedimentationlagoons serve for the separation of the depositable substances contained in raw wastewater and for the digestion of the deposited sludge. In general, they are employed as a preliminary stage only. With combined sewer systems they can, at the same time, take on stormwater treatment (see also Sect. 4). Dimensioning criteria are hydraulic retention time, sludge quantity and frequency of clearance. Due to the normally present high organic loading such lagoons are mainly anaerobic. Odour emissions can therefore not be excluded. The digestion process in wastewater lagoons runs similar\y to that in Imhoff tanks.

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ATV - A 201 E 2.2 Nonaerated Wastewater Lagoons

Nonaerated wastewater lagoons, ie. wastewater lagoons without mechanical aeration facilities, are large area and flat. they are employed for the b.iological treatment of wastewater. Insofar as no sedimentation lagoons are placed upstream for desludging they also serve at the same time for the removal of depositable substances. Oxygen is introduced into nonaerated wastewater lagoons by normal means; the input is thus dependent onclimatic and meteorological factors respectively. Dimensioning criterion is the solids loading. The upper water layer is, as a rule, aerobic. From time to time, however, aerobic zones can form in the inflow area or on the bottom in deep lagoons. They are therefore also known as "Optional Anaerobic" lagoons. Their inclusion in the stormwater treatment is des.cribed in Sect. 4. The area of application of nonaerated wastewater lagoons lies, as a rule, with connection values below 1000 total inhabitants and population equivalents. 2.3 Aerated WaStewaterLagoons

In aerated wastewater lagoons oxygen is introduced using mechanical aeration installations. Through this the .Iarge area requirement, as is necessary with nonaerated wastewater lagoons, is reduced. They are fed with raw wastewater or mechanically pretreated wastewater and serve for biological treatment. For aeration, in general, aerators specially designed for lagoons are employed; at the same time they effect a circulation. The contact zone water/ground sludge, the biologically effective growth and the freely swimming bacteria and microorganisms are signifjcant for the treatment efficiency. A smoothing zone or a downstream lagoon is necessary for the separation of suspended solids. Dimensioning criteria forsatisfactorily thorough mixing are either the BOD5 volumetric loading or the BOD5 solids loading. Their employment for stormwater treatmemt is, as for nonaerated lagoons, possible (see Sect. 4). Lagoons with sludge return flow are dealt with in this Work Sheet; they are, from a technical process point of view, to be classed with activated sludge plants with combined sludge stabilisation (see ATV Work Sheet A 126 "Principles for the Treatmentof Wastewater in Sewage Treatment Plants According to the Activated Sludge Process for Connection Values between 500 and 10.000 Total lnhabitants and Population Equivalents". The area of application of aerated wastewater lagoons lies, as a rule, with connection values below 5000 total inhabitants and population equivalents.

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ATV - A 201 E 2.4 Polishing Ponds

Polishing ponds are fed with biologically or equally treated wastewater. Witli poor performance lakes or rivers or. with particularly high demandson the waters quality, polishing ponds are a simple and reliable system in order to improve the discharge of a biological sewage treament plant with regard to suspended solids, organic residualloading, inorganic nutrients and hygienic characteristics. Their buffer properties effect a concentration balancing. They are, asa rule, operated without artifjcial aeration. Dimensioning criterion is hydraulic retention time.

Dimensioning, Construction and Operation

With the dimensioning of wastewater lagoons, as a rule, the following guidance values are to be assumed: Specifjc BOD5 load Quantity of domestic and industrial wastewater 60 g/(I.d) 150 g/(l. d)

Sewer infiltration water is, according to local conditions, to be additionally included. 3.1 Sedimentation Lagoons

Sedimentation lagoons are to be dimensioned with V1+PE 0.5 m3/1; in this there is included a sludge volume of 0.15 m3/1. With high sewer infjltration water a hydraulic retention time of at least one day is to be maintained. With sedimentation lagoons a reduction of organic pollution for domestic wastewater of, on average, 50 % can be reckoned with. The quantity of digested sludge referred to inhabitants is to be set at 0.3 Vd. For the design the follow!ng are to be observed: Inclined retaining wa1ls according to reinforcement Length to width (on the surface) Depth for sedimentation and sludge zone Freeboard 1 : 1.5 3:1 1.5m 0.3 m

A simple method of construction can be seleGted for sedimentation lagoons. Retaining slope reinforcements are sensible (eg. paving or concrete slabs). The bottom of the lagoon should have a slope to a low point from which to pump out the sludge. Bottom reinforcement can. with regard to certain clearance processes, be I an advantage. The necessity of sealing off the subsojl is to be examined on an individual case basis (see Sect. 3.5 for this). Distribution installationsshould be fitted at the lagoon inflow (eg. downflow baffle. deflector plate, deflector box). Floating matter is to be held back in the discharge, eg. by a scum board. It should reach some 0.3 m below the lowest and at least 0.20 m above the highest water level.

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ATV - A 201 E In order to be able to carry out the sludge clearance a wastewater diversion pipeline and drivable paths are to be arranged around the lagoon. Insofar as the sludge can not be removed from the side, fixed ramps (max slope 1 : 5) are necessary to drive in clearance equipment. The placing of screens and grit chambers in front of sedimentation tanks was, in generali up until now not considered to be necessary. The increasing proportion of floating plastic substances and hygiene articles in communal wastewater can make the fitting upstream of an automatica1ly cleared facility for coarse removal necessary. It is to be protected against the elements. The regular servicing tasks on sedimentation lagoons are limited essentailly to the cleaning of the inlets and outlets and the skimming of floating substances; weed growth is to be removed. The sludge from sedimentation lagoons is, according to requirement, normally clearedonce a year. 3.2 Nonaerated Sedimentation Lagoons

Nonaerated sedimentation lagoons ar.e to be dimensioned with Al+PE 2: 10 m2/L This value can be reduced to 8 m2/l if inflows from agricultural discharges (liquid manure. silo leakage fluid)can be excluded with certainty. According to the type of stormwater treatment additions up to Al+PE = 5 m2/l can be necessary on both dimensioning values (see Sect.4). The hydraulic retention time tR in nonaerated wastewater lagoons must be 20 d with dry weather. With dimensioning values AI+PE = 5 m2/l ammonium nitrogen to a varying degree is nitrified in nonaerated wastewater lagoons and a part of the formed nitrate is denitrified. Nonaerated wastewater lagoons are to be designed with a depth of some 1.0 m. With plants without sedimentation lagoons a depression for the collection of deposited sludge can be useful in the inflow regions of the first lagoon. The necessary total area of the lagoon should be distributed over at least three, with a sedimentation lagoon upstream, at least two more or less equally large units; through this the hydraulic retention time relationships and the treatment efficiency are improved. With large lagoons the hydraulic relationships must be improved fr an as even as possible flow, if required. by design measures (eg. stretched construction methods, installation of directing dams or walls). With favourable terrain conditions the connections between lagoons should be designed as free discharges. In order to reduce directed flows distribution installations, eg. deflector plates, are to be planned. For the retention of swimming or floating substances downflow baffles and/or filter dams are to be installed. In .order to reduce the movement of algae It is recommended that additional or. taking account of necssary total surface area, a further lagoon with proportional specific surface areas of Al+PE = H 1 m2 /l should be included downstream as planted wet biotope (regulatable water depth of some 10 40 cm).

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ATV - A 201 E The servicing requirement with nonaerated lagoons is small. Connecting and discharge facilities are to be controlled weekly and, if required, cleaned. The degree of sludge depositing is to be determined at least annually through dipping. Sludge clearance is necessary at intervals of several years; at the latest if the sludge height achieves one quarter of the original water depth. 3.3 Aerated Wastewater Lagoons

For the dimensioning of aerated wastewater Lagoons a BOD5 volumetric loading of BR 25 g/(m3 d) is to bo applied. If measurement is carried out according to area loading then the equation BA = BR h applies for normal water depths h = 1.5-3-5 m. The hydraulic retention time with dry weather must be at least five days. As OC load OB 1.5 kg/kg and. for the circulaticn according to the system employed and the hydraulic d1ar3cteristic of the lagoon, a po~ver per unit volume of reactor WR = 1 -3 W/m3 are to applied. It is sensible to divide the total volume into two series connected units. The secondary treatmeht zone or a downstream nonaerated lagoon are also to be provided wrth at least one day's hydraulic retention time. With the above given dimensioning values the nitrification is small. If it is required, aerated wastewater !agoons with fixed bed installations, eg- biological filters, biological cont3Ctors or integrated growth surfaces can be combined together. The wastewater lagoons are to be matched to the local conditions and, in shape, to the aeration equipment employed. It is recommended that the maximum 1: 1.5 stoped retaining walls should be reinforced, eg. through grass checker bricks. bank stabilising growth or stone filling, due to the watef" movements resulting from the aerator and to ease servicing t2Sks. in any event at least in the area of water level variations. In addition, the information given under Sect. 3.1 applies in the same manner for the operation of automatically cleared facilities for the removal of coarse material as does the information given under Sects. 3.1 and 3.2 for the constructional design of lagoons. Apart from the regular control of the operation and servicing of the mechanical installations only the normal cleaning and maintenance tasks such as, for instance, the skimming of floating substances, cleaning of the inflows and outflows repair of darnage to the retaining walls, are to be carried out- According to the aeration system there are, for the clearance of sludge, intervals of from four to ten years. Sludge production should be set at 0.3 l/(I.d).

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ATV - A 201 E 3.4 Polishing Ponds

Polishing ponds are dimensioned, in .general. with a depth of 1 to 2 rn and a hydraulic retention time of 1 to 5 days. Shorter hydraulic retention times still have a good effect due, primarily, to the retention of depositable substances and concentration balancing. If a retention of nutrients and reduction of the number of germs is sought longer hydraulic retention times than two days are to be selected. If undesired algae development is to be countered the hydraulic retention time is to be limited to two days. Care is to be taken, using favourable design, that as few as possible unflowed through zones occur in which. due to the there unplanned extended water standing time, algae can nevertheless develop in great density. Effective measures against the formation of badly circulated pond zones, and thus an undesired partial increase in the water standing time, are:

division of the overall pond area into several, hydraulicalfy separated ponds, inflow arrangements with distribution of the inflow over the complete pond width, eg. with the aid of baffle plates directing facilities to guide the wastewater stream and to counter the influence of wind, discharge arrangements with run-off channel and series downflow baffles or with separated, planted flat water zone.

In addition, a suitable bank planting, eg. trees with large crowns such as alders or weeping willows, can contribute, through partial shadowing of the lagoon surface, to a reduction of the algae development. The final dischargeis to be so integrated that equipment for the sampling of water and for flow measurement can be employed. The servicing resources for polishing ponds are very small. The ..extent of sludge sedimentation is to be determined annually by dipping. The sludge is to be removed as required. The quantity of sludge produced depends mainly on the treatment efficiency of the upstream sewage treatment plant. As a rule one can reckon with a sludge sedimentation of a few centimetres onlyand the necessity for sludge clearance at intervals of from five to ten years. For this, polishing ponds Qre also to be kept easily accessible and operable, in particular the firstpond of a flowed through chain, as weIl as the installations, described in Sect. 3.1, planned in the ponds. 3.5 Infonnation for Bottom Sealing

Whether a lagoon bottom is to be artificially sealed depends, in particular, on the existing ground properties and the distance to the water level at the respective location. The follovJing guidelines can apply for the necessity of an artificial sealing:

fissured subsoil and soil properties with permeability values kf 10-8 m/s fundamentally require sealing measures.

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with soil properties with permeability values kf 10-8 m/s sealing can, as a rule, be done without with soil properties with permeability values of kt of around 10-7 m/s it must be carefully assessed whether, due to local conditions, the requirement of 34, Sect. 1 of the Water! Resources Law {WHG) can be met without sealing or whether, sealing measures are necessary .

Concrete or asphalt sealing 1s expensive, above all if, due to the I exist!ng soil, special foundation measures are necessary. Soils with small bearing ability or heavy sensitivity to settling can exclude the employment of such types of sealing for practical and cost reasons.The advantage of concrete and asphalt sealings lies in the fact that the bottom can be driven on without problem, eg. for the purposes of sludge clearance. Plastic sealing requires the employment of at least 3 mm thick strips or sheets. Insofar as these are subjected to sunrays UV-resistant material must be included. With lagoons which, for clearance purposes, must be driven on, it must first be clarified whether and, .if require:d, how th.e sealing material can be protected against displacemerit and tearing by vehicles. With the employment of plastic strips for the sealing of lagoons which are aerated with surface aerators, the strips on the bottom and retaining walls are subject to eddying and thus possibly to flexing loads. Such loadings lead to damage. The choice of the most suitable sealing material and the securing of the sealing is thus to be assessed carefully. Sealing with artificially applied covering layers of cohesive soil require a material with permeability values kf < 10-8 m/s. The material is to be applied in layers of some 30 cm and to be sealed to at least 95% Proctor Density. With soils with good permeability at least two layers are to be planned. With lesser permeability in individua( cases, one layer can suffice, in particular in the last lagoons of a lagoon chain or in polishing ponds. The lowest sealing layer can also be replaced by a suitable. soil-mechanical conditioning of the upper layer of the existing soil. Cohesive covering layers or conditioned soillayers can be heavily damaged by clearance vehicles. 3.6 Detennination of Discharge Values

Discharges from lagoons. in particular those from nonaerated; lagoon plants can. from time to time, contajn increased amounts of plant and animal plankton organisms. If a sampie is clearly discoloured by algae the treatment efficiency can only be as, sessed 1fa BOD5 and COD determination precedes a separation. 'n accordance with the 1 st Administrative Ordinance (1. VwV) the discharge values for BODs and COD may therefore be determined from the algae-free (filtered) sampie. The stricter values for the filtered sampie in comparison with the original discharge sampie take into account that the floating substance which are not due to the plankton are separated with the filteringof the sampie.

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Stormwater treatment

Small localities drained with combinedsystems have, in general, o no stormwater overflows within the drainage network. In part stormwater overflows are erected at the boundary of the locality after collection of all wastewaters. The discharge which is further fed to the sewagetreatment plant can then be ofthe order ofup to 50 QDW due to the necessary minimum diameter of the throttle pipeline. In part. the total combined wastewater is fed to the sewage treatment plant unrelieved. These largeinflows can be treated in wastewater lagoons without particular difficulty by damming in accordance with the principles of the ATV Work Sheet A 128 "Standards for the Dimensioning and Design of Stormwater Overflows in Combined Wastewater Sewers". The following three cases meet the water quality management requirements. Case I: At the edge of the locality there is a possibility for relief via a stormwater overflow (SO).

In this case the lagoon plant is to be so designed that the total critical combined wastewater discharge (Qcrit) is treated. If the first lagoon is a sedimentation lagoon one is to use the here available storage volume purposely to throttle the dischargeinto the second lake. If the storage volume of the sedimentation lagoon is filled up, the inflow can be fed to the next series lagoon via a flow-dividing structure (FDS). Case II: A stormwater overflow tank (SOl) 1s situated at the edge of the locality.

The discharge (Qd) from the SOT flows through all lagoons one after another.

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ATV - A 201 E Case III: CASE III: All collected combined wastewater is fed to the lagoon plant unrestricted

In this case there are three possible methods of operatjon to be differentiated: the complete combined wastewater discharge (Qmax) flows through al1 the lagoons one after another, whereby the connection between the lagoons has a throttfing effect and causes damming. If the first lagoon is a sedimentation fagoon then the following method of operation is to be selected:

only the critical combined wastewater discharge (Qcrit) is treated and fed to the sedimentation lagoon; the upstream overflow structure in this case acts as stomwater overflow (SO). The reduced combined wastewater can be fed into the receiving water or fed to the following lagoons. The first part of the total combined wastewater inflow is fed. unthrottled. with the pol1utant surge into the sedimentation lagoon. By throttling the lagoon discharge a damming in the sedimentation fagoon is effected and this establishes the necessary stormwater tank first flush retention volume. The re duced combined wastewater can be fed. via the tank overflow (TO). into the receiving water or to the next following lagoon.

The storage volume to be established in the first lagoon is derived from the difference between the position of the water level with dry weather operation and the dammed water level at which an overflow. placed in front of the lagoon. comes into action. This damming height depends on the highest permissibfe water level in the inflow channel. It is. as a rufe. subiect to design and is some 30 to 60 cm.

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Summary of Dimensioning Values

Concluding Remarks

The area of application of wastewater lagoons can be divided as follows based on the various treatment processes: Sedimentation lagoons as independent plants for short term provisional solution only, otherwise as preliminary stage for a further treatment. October 1989 13

ATV - A 201 E Nonaerated lagoons for biological treatment of wastewater from mostly small towns and villages; due to the large area requirement their area of application. as a rule. lies with connection values below 1.000 I. for the reduction of area requirement in comparison with nonaerated lagoons and to increase the treatment efficiency applied; aerated lagoon plants are, as a rule, employed with connection values up to 5.000 I, in particular with the connection of seasonal operations.

Aerated lagoons

Apart from cliinatic or meteorological preconditions the wastewater inflow and characteristics as weIl as the dimensioning and constructional design of the lago.ons determine the degree of treatment efficiency. The advantages of wastewater lagoons are: - possibility of an almost natural design - simple, cost-saving method of construction - smaller or less mechanical resources - apart from regular control of operation only slight servicing resources - sludge clearance in one to several year intervals - large buffer volume. therefore possibiljty of combined treatmentof stormwater. Disadvantages are: - the relatjvely high area requirement - varying treatment effjciency due to seasonal and weather variations - occasional heavy algae development and undesired algae drifting - Possible odour emissjons with sedjmentation and nonaerated lagoons

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Af+PE BA BR I+PE OB tR Vl+PE WR

Syrnbols and Units

m2/l g/(m2 .d) kg/(m3. d) I kg/kg d m3/l W/m3 lagoon surface area per inhabitant and population equivalent BOD5 area loading BOD5 volumetrjc loading Total inhabitants and population equjvalents OC load; quotient of specific oxygen input capacity and BOD5 volumetric loading hydraulic retention tjme lagoon volume per inhabitant and population equivalent power per unit volume of reactor: installed performance of the circulation or aeration installation, referred to lagoon volume.

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