Hawassa University, IOT, SBEE

Water supply and Environmental Engineering

Chapter 5

Disposal and discharge of industrial

wastewater
 Introduction
• Treated wastewater effluent, if not reused, is disposed
of either on land or into water bodies.
• To avoid adverse effects on the receiving environment,
outfall structures must be designed for adequate
dispersal of the effluent in the receiving waters in
order to avoid localized pollution.
• Depending on the characteristics of the receiving
waters, many factors are considered for proper
mixing and dispersal of effluent.
 Effluent Disposal
• There are two general methods of disposing of
sewage effluents:
• (a) dilution i.e disposal in water and
• (b) disposal on land (i.e effluent irrigation)
Disposal by dilution
• Disposal by dilution is the process whereby:
• the effluent from the sewage treatment plant is
discharged into river-stream or a large body of
water such as a lake, sea and oceans.
 Disposal by dilution
• The discharged sewage is purified by self
purification process of natural waters.

• The degree and amount of treatment given to

raw sewage before disposing it into the river
stream depend not only upon the quality of
raw sewage but also upon the self purification
capacity of the river, stream and the
intended use of its water.
 Discharge into rivers/streams

• These factors include flow velocity, depth

stratification due to salinity and
temperature, wind currents.
• The temperature and salinity of the effluent
should also be taken into consideration.
• The disposal area should be downstream from
any location where water is to be withdrawn
for human consumption.
 Discharge into lakes
• Lakes are larger and deeper than rivers and
subjected to temperature stratification and
low natural mixing via currents.
• The lower strata are subjected to conditions
of low temperature and low dissolved oxygen
which slow down the decomposition of organic
matter.
• In shallow lakes, effluents are adequately
dispersed by wind-induced currents that
ensure appropriate mixing.
Stratification of Lake
 Eutrophication of lakes
• Eutrophication is a natural process under which
lakes get polluted with algae and silt up
gradually to become shallower and more
productive through the entry and cycling of
nutrients like carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus.
• This natural process of eutrophication always
gets its carbon and nitrogen from the
atmospheric gases like:
 • CO2 and NO2;
• while the requirements of phosphorous is met
by its presence in natural runoff.

• The natural process of eutrophication is

also gets intensified due to the entry of
wastewater discharge into lakes, causing
permanent damage to its water quality
leading to its siltation.
 Discharge into seas and oceans
• Oceans are extensively used for wastewater
disposal because of their great assimilation
capacity.
• Wastewater is of lower density than
seawater, and consequently, upon discharge,
the effluent forms a rapidly rising water
plume which entrains large amounts of
ambient water, enhancing wastewater
dilution.
 Sewage discharge into sea

• The following points should be kept in mind

while discharging sewage into the sea to avoid
marine pollution.
(i) The sewage should be discharged in deep sea
only
(ii) In order to mix the sewage properly with sea
water, the sewage should be released at a
minimum depth of 3 to 5 meters below the
water level, and by taking it sufficiently inside
(1.5km) from the shore line.
(iii) Before deciding the position of outfall point,
the sea currents, wind direction, velocity
etc. should be thoroughly studied.

(iv)The outfall sewer should be placed on a firm

rocky foundation, and enclosed in thick stone
masonry, so as to properly protect it from
wave action, floating debris etc.
• The outfall carries the wastewater to an
offshore discharge point through a pipe
laid on or buried in the ocean floor.
 Conditions favoring disposal by dilution
(i). When the sewage is comparatively fresh(4
to 5 hr. old) and free from floating and
settleable solids, or as easily removed by
primary treatment.
(ii). When the diluting water has a high dissolved
oxygen(DO) contents.
(iii). Where diluting waters are not used for the
purpose of navigation or water supply for
some reasonable distance on the downstream
from the point of sewage disposal.
 Conditions favoring disposal by dilution
(iv). When the flow currents of diluting waters
are favorable causing no deposition, nuisance
or destruction of aquatic life.
• It means the swift forward currents are helpful, as they
easily carry away the sewage to the point of unlimited
dilution.

(v). When the outfall sewer of the city or

treatment plant is situated near some natural
waters having large volumes.
 2

2
• The natural forces of purification which help in
effecting self purification processes are summarized
below:
1. physical forces are:
(i) dilution and dispersion

(ii) sedimentation and

(iii) Sunlight (acting through biochemical reactions)
2 Chemical forces aided by biological forces (called
biochemical forces).
(iv) oxidation (Bio)
(iv) Reduction
 Dilution and dispersion
• When the putrescible organic matter is
discharged in to a large volume of water
contained in the river-stream, it gets
rapidly dispersed and diluted.
• The action thus results in diminishing the
concentration of organic matter and
reduces the potential nuisance of sewage.
When sewage of concentration Cs flows at a

rate Qs into a river stream with concentration

CR and rate QR, the concentration C of the

resulting mixture is given by:

Zones of pollution in a river stream

A polluted stream undergoing self-
 (i) Zone of degradation
(ii) zone active decomposition
(iii) zone of recovery
(iv) zone of cleaner water
Oxygen deficit of polluted river or stream
• The entire analysis of super-imposing the rates
of deoxygenation and re-oxygenation have
been carried out mathematically and the
obtained result expressed in the form of
famous Streeter-phelps equation:

Where
Dt= the D.O deficit in mg/l after t days
L= Ultimate first stage B.O.D of the mix at
the point of waste discharge in mg/l
Do= Initial oxygen deficit of the mix at the
mixing point in mg/l
KD= De-oxygenation coefficient for the
wastewater which can be considered equal
to BOD rate constant.
KD varies with temp as:
Self purification constant
Prediction of DO at any point along the stream and
Critical time(tc) after which min. DO occurs

• This is important first stage equation in which L is the

BOD of the mixture of sewage and stream, and f(KD and
KR) corresponds to the temperature of the mixture of
sewage and stream at the outfall.
• The above equation is helpful in estimating the degree
of waste treatment required or the amount of dilution
necessary in order to maintain a certain DO in the
stream.
 Example:1
• The sewage of a town is to be discharged into a river,
stream. The quantity of sewage produced per day is 8
million liters, and its BOD is 250mg/l. If the
discharge in the river is 200l/s and if its BOD is
6mg/l, find out the BOD of the diluted water.
 Example:2
• A city discharges 100 cumecs
of sewage into a river, which is
fully saturated with oxygen
and flowing at a rate of 1500
cumecs during its lean days
with a velocity of 0.1m/s. The
5-days BOD of sewage at the
given temperature is 280mg/l.
Find when and where the
critical DO deficit will occur in
the down stream portion of the
river, and what is its amount.
Assume coefficient of
purification of the stream(f)
as 4, and coefficient of de-
oxygenation (KD) as 0.1.
 Example_3
• 125 cumecs of sewage of a city is discharged in a
perennial river which is fully saturated with oxygen and
flows at a minimum rate of 1600 cumecs with a minimum
velocity of 0.12 m/s. If the 5 day BOD of sewage is
300mg/l. Find out where the critical DO will occur in the
river and what is its amount . Assume the coefficient of
purification of the river as 4.0, the coefficient of DO as
0.11 and the ultimate BOD as 125% of the 5 day BOD of
the mixture of sewage and river water.
When KD ═ 0.11
Compete Dc
 Disposal on land
• In this method the sewage effluent (treated
or diluted) is generally disposed by applying
it on land.
• The percolating water may either join the
water table or is collected below by a system
of under drains.
• This method can then be used for irrigation
crops.
 Sewage sickness
• When sewage is applied continuously on a piece
of land, the soil pores or voids may get filled up
and clogged with sewage matter retained in
them.
• The time taken for such clogging will depend
upon the type and the load present on sewage.
• When these voids are clogged, free circulation of
air will be prevented and anaerobic condition will
develop within the pores.
• The organic matter will be decomposed with
the evolution of foul gases like H2S, CO2 and

CH4.

• This phenomena of soil getting clogged known

as sewage sickness of land.
• In order to prevent the sewage sickness of a
land, the following preventive measures
should be adopted
• (i) Primary treatment of sewage
 (ii) Choice of land
• The piece of land used for sewage disposal
should be sandy or loamy. Clayey lands should
be avoided
(iii) Under drainage of soil
• The land on which the sewage is being
disposed can be better drained.
(iv) Giving rest to the land
(v) Rotation of crops
(vi) Applying shallow depths
 Example_1
• A town having population of 40,000 disposes
sewage by land treatment. It gets a per capita
assured water supply from waterworks at a
rate of 130l/d. Assuming that the land used
for sewage disposal can absorb 80m3 of
sewage per hectare per day, determine the
land area required. Make suitable assumptions
where needed.
Solution
 Example_2
• A town dispose sewage by land treatment. It has a sewage farm
of area 150 hectares. The area include an extra provision of 50%
for rest and rotation. The population of the town being 50,000
and rate of water supply is 140 liters per capita per day. If 75%
of the water is converted into sewage, determine the consuming
capacity of the soil.
 Deep well injection

• Deep-well injection involves injecting the

wastes deep in the ground in to permeable
rock formations (typically limestone or
dolomite) or underground caverns.
• It is used principally for liquid wastes that
are difficult to treat and dispose by more
conventional methods and hazardous wastes
• This wells are used mainly by the
following industries:
• Petroleum Refining
• Metal Production
• Chemical Production
• Pharmaceutical Production
• Commercial Disposal
• Food Production
Cheerful Day