Gondar University

Institute of Technology
Department of Civil Engineering

(CEng3221)
Chapter one
Introduction to Environmental Engineering

Tigist Birhanu (MSc.)

1
 Introduction
 The “environment” =surrounding us, consists of both:
 Biotic factors -living things
 Abiotic factors -nonliving things, that surround us and
with which we interact.
Humans and the environment
 We are exist within the environment and are a part of
the natural world.
 Like all other species, we depend for our survival on a
properly functioning planet.
 Thus, our interactions with our environment matter a
great deal.
 Renewable resources like sunlight cannot be depleted.
 Nonrenewable resources like oil CAN be depleted.
 Resources like timber and clean water are renewable only if we do not
overuse them.
 Environmental Engineering vs
Science
 How does the natural world work?

 How does our environment affect us?

 How do we affect our environment?

 Applied goal-developing solutions to

environmental problems.
What is Environmental Enginee
ring? 
Engineering involves the application of fundamental
scientific principles to the development and
implementation of technologies needed to satisfy human
needs.

Environmental engineering is concerned with the design,

manufacture, installation and operation of the
engineering systems that sustain and control the
environments required by people and processes.
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It impacts on all aspects of everyday life.

Environmental engineers achieve their aims by the

utilization and conversion of the many energy resources
that surround us - the fossil fuels and the renewable
energies.

There is a growing awareness that the quality of life must

be balanced by the conservation of these resources and the
protection of the environment.

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The Environmental Engineering Division of the American
Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) has published the following
statement of purpose that may be used to show the relationship
between environmental science and environmental engineering:

Environmental engineering is manifest by sound engineering

thought and practice in the solution of problems of environmental
sanitation, notably in the provision of safe, palatable, and ample
public water supplies; the proper disposal of or recycle of
wastewater and solid wastes; the adequate drainage of urban
and rural areas for proper sanitation; and the control of water,
soil, and atmospheric pollution.
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What Environmental science ?

Environmental science-deals with the study of the

processes in water, air, and soil and organisms which
lead to pollution or environmental damage, and the
scientific basis for the establishment of a standard
which can be considered acceptably clean, safe and healthy
for human beings and the natural ecosystem (physical and
natural sciences).

Environmental science is an organized body of knowledge

about environmental relationships.
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 Environmental science is an interdisciplinary field, drawing on
many diverse disciplines.

 Environmental science in its broadest sense encompasses all the

fields of natural science.
 Environmental Systems Overview

Figure below is system of natural science called ecosystem is the

framework for all environmental systems.

Ecosystem is the relationships and interactions of plants

and animals with the water, air, and soil that makes up their
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we have three environmental systems that serve as
the focus of this course:-
The water resource management system,
The air resource management system, and
The solid waste management system.
Pollution problems that are confined to one of
these systems are called single-medium problems
if the medium is either air, water, or soil.
Many important environmental problems are not
confined to one of these simple systems but cross
the boundaries from one to another. Such
problems are referred to as multimedia pollution
problems.

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 Water Resource Management
System
Water Supply Subsystem.
The water source commonly determines the
planning, design, and operation of the collection,
purification, transmission, and distribution works.
The two major sources used to supply community
and industrial needs are referred to as
surface water and
groundwater.
Wastewater Disposal Subsystem.
Safe disposal of all waste water is necessary to
protect the health of the individual, the family, and
the community.
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Air Resource Management System
Air resource differs from our water resource in two important
aspects:-
i. The first is in regard to quantity.
Where as engineering structures are required to provide an
adequate water supply,
Air is delivered free of charge in whatever quantity we
desire.
ii.The second aspect is in regard to quality. Unlike water
which can be treated before we use it, it is impractical to go
about treating the air we consume.

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The balance of cost and benefit to obtain a desired quality
of air is termed as air resource management.
Air resource management programs are instituted for a
variety of reasons.
The most defensive reasons are that:-
If air quality has deteriorated , there is a need for
correction, and
The potential for a future problem is strong.

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Multimedia systems
Many environmental problems cross the air-water-soil
boundary.
An example is acid rain that results from the emission
of sulfur oxides and nitrogen oxides to the atmosphere.
These pollutants are washed out of the atmosphere, thus
cleansing it, but in turn polluting water and changing the
soil chemistry, which ultimately results in the death of
fish and trees

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Multimedia systems

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 Activities of Environmental engineer
Permit application based on atmospheric dispersion
estimates

Improving environmental performance after an audit

Site assessment after plant decommissioning

Estimation of volatile emissions from surface

impoundment

Mediator between industry and citizens group

Preparation of an environmental impact assessment

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 Environmental policy and legislation

In the 1960s, a broad awareness of environmental pollution problems
developed among the general public.

Many people came to realize the value and importance of protecting
environmental quality.

The emergence of an environmental awareness on the part of the
public gave a genuine concern to politicians, lawmakers, and
governmental agencies on the need for an appropriate legal and
regulatory frame work for environmental quality control.

As a result, different environmental laws and regulations have been
issued by different agencies through the world.
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 Environmental
Policy policy
mean a formal set of general plans and
principles to address problems and guide
decisions
 It is one path to solving environmental problems.
Public Policy is a policy made by governments
that consists of laws, regulations, orders,
incentives, and practices
Environmental Policy is a policy pertains to
human interactions with the environment
• Regulates resource use or reduce pollution
Objectives of Environmental policy
This takes its origin from National Environmental
Policy Act (NEPA) of US on Jan.1,1970
 A Policy being framed which will encourage
productive and enjoyable harmony between man
and his environment
 To promote efforts which will prevent or
eliminate damage to the environment and
biosphere and stimulate the health and welfare
of man
 To enrich the understanding of the ecological
systems and natural resources important to the
Nation.
 Addresses issues of equity and resource
use
 Prevents overexploitation of public
resources (tragedy of the commons)
 Ensures that some people do not harm
others while benefiting from common
resources
 The tragedy of the commons-we must
develop guidelines for commonly held
resources
Restrict use and actively manage
resources
Environmental policy and equity
 Free Riders-reducing pollution tempts any one person to
cheat
• Private voluntary efforts are less effective than
mandated efforts
 External Cost-harmful impacts result from market
transaction but are born by people not involved in the
transaction
 Environmental policy goals protect resources against the tragedy
of the commons and to promote equity by eliminating free riders
and addressing external costs
What can hinder environmental policy?
 Opposition from landowners fearing loss of control over
land

 Opposition from businesses, developers, and industry

groups fearing government regulation

 Human tendency (especially businesses, media,

politicians) to focus on short-term problems and ignore
long-term problems
 International Environmental
Policy

 International issues can be addressed through creative

agreements
 Customary law-practices or customs held by most
cultures
 Conventional law-from conventions or treaties
• Montreal Protocol-nations agreed to reduce ozone-
depleting chemicals
• Kyoto Protocol-reduces fossil fuel emissions causing
climate change
The National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA)
• 1970 began the modern era of environmental policy

• Created the Council on Environmental Quality

• Requires an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for any
federal action that might impact the environment
 NEPA forces the government and businesses to evaluate the environmental
impacts of a project
• Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
• Conducts and evaluates research
• Monitors environmental quality
• Sets and enforces standards for pollution levels
• Assists states in meeting standards and goals
• Educates the public
NEPA

 Created the Council on Environmental Quality

 Mandated environmental impact statements for

public projects and has:
 Prioritized and understanding our impacts on the
environment
 Slowed down or prevented environmentally
destructive development
 Given citizens a say in the policy process
Some approaches to environmental policy

 Command and control : government regulation;

limits/standards/quotas set; penalties for
violations

 Green taxes: charges on environmentally harmful

products, activities

 Marketable permits: firms can buy/sell/trade

permits to emit certain amounts of pollutants
steps to making environmental policy

• Requires curiosity, observation, awareness

Involves scientific research and Risk assessment-judging risks a problem poses to

health or the environment
 Risk management-developing strategies to
minimize risk

 Involves social or political action

 Organizations are more effective than
individuals

 But a motivated, informed individual can also

succeed
 Lobbying-spending time and money to influence a
politician
 Environmental advocates are not the most influential
lobbyists
 Political Action Committees (PACs)-raise money for
political campaigns
 The revolving door-the movement of people between the
private sector and government
-Intimate knowledge of an issue or conflict of interest
 Prepare a bill, or draft law, containing solutions
 Following a law’s enactment
 Administrative agencies implement regulations
 Policymakers evaluate the policy’s successes or failures
 The judicial branch interprets the law
Legislation and International law
 Major laws such as the Clean Water Act (1977)
were passed throughout the 1960s, ‘70s, and
‘80s.
 The Clean Water Act capped efforts to clean up
waters badly polluted since the 1800’s.
 Conventional law arises from conventions or
treaties agreed to among nations.
(e.g. Montreal Protocol to protect ozone layer
 Customary law arises from practices or
customs held in common by most cultures.
(e.g. Resource use should be equitable and one
nation should not cheat another.)
 Environmental Legislation means a plan of action
adopted by the Government rationalizing the
course of action.

 The environmental Legislation tries to enact all

the laws of environment in a justifiable
manner

 The environmental Legislation although varies

from country or continent focuses on a
common goal of secure and sustainable living at
earth.
 Environmental Ethics
Ethics
 It is a discipline that deals with how we value
and perceive our environment.
 It is the study of good and bad, right and wrong
 It is the systematic analysis of morality.
Moral principles or values held by a person or
society
Promoting human welfare, maximizing freedom,
minimizing pain and suffering
 It is a prescriptive pursuit: it tells us how we
ought to behave
 Environmental ethics
 It is application of ethical standards to relationships
between human and non-human entities
 It concerns with the moral relationships between humans
and the world around us.
 Field of ethics that considers the moral basis of
environmental responsibility
 Questions related with environmental d e s t r o y
Should O K to
we sav h en i s it j o b s ?
f
ethicsr future
o e resour W c r eat e
genera ces a fores t to
ti o n s ? Is it O
K for s
d r iv e c o m m ome
h ou l d h um ans unities
S t o m o to be e
er s pe c i es t o re poll xposed
oth ution?
extinction?
 Do we have special duties, obligations, or
responsibilities to other species or nature in general?
 Are our dispositions towards humans different than
towards nature?
 How are they different?
 Are there moral laws objectively valid and independent
of cultural context, history, situation, or environment?
Three ethical perspectives
 Anthropocentrism = only humans have intrinsic value
 Biocentrism = some nonhuman life has intrinsic value
 Ecocentrism = whole ecological systems have value
- A holistic perspective that preserves connections
The preservation ethic
• Unspoiled nature should be protected
for its own intrinsic value
• John Muir had an ecocentric
viewpoint
– He was a tireless advocate
for wilderness preservation
 The conservation
•ethic
Use natural resources wisely for the greatest good for the
most people (the utilitarian standard)
– Gifford Pinchot had an anthropocentric viewpoint
Environmental ethics principles

 Universalists
 Relativists
 Nihilists
 Utilitarians
Universalists
 Fundamental principles of ethics are universal,
unchanging, and eternal.
 The rules of right and wrong are valid regardless of our
interests, attitudes, desires or preferences.
 Revealed by God?
 Revealed by discovery?
Plato, Kant
Relativists
 Moral principles are always relative to a particular
person, society, or situation.
 Ethical values are contextual, that is they depend on the
person, the society, or the situation.
 There is right and wrong or at least better or worse but
no principles are absolute regardless of context.
Sophists
Nihilists
 The world makes no sense at all!
 Everything is completely arbitrary, there is no meaning
or purpose to life other than the instinctive struggle for
survival.
 There is no reason to behave morally.
 Might is right.
 There is no such thing as the good life.
 Life is uncertain full of pain and despair.
Schopenhauer
Utilitarians
 An action is right that produces the greatest good for the
greatest number of people.
 Goodness = Happiness,
 Happiness = Pleasure
Bentham (Plato, Socrates, Aristotle)
John Stuart Mill held that the greatest pleasure is to be
educated and to act according to enlightened, humanitarian
principles
Urbanization and its impact on the environment
Urbanization is a process in which people
increasingly move from rural areas to densely
population cities
Rural area occupations involve harvesting natural
resources
Urban area occupations involve jobs not
connected with natural resources
People are moving to cities due to decrease in
employment opportunities in rural areas
Urbanization is increasing rapidly, especially in developing
countries
 Effects of urbanization on environment
Consequences of urbanization

 Less evapotranspiration
 Less infiltration
 A lot more runoff

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 Impacts

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 Faster -larger floods

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 Environmental Problems in Urban Areas

 Growing urban areas affect land use patterns

 Fragment wildlife
 Encroach wetlands, forests, desert, etc.
 Brownfields
 Urban areas of abandoned industrial or residential
sites that may be contaminated from past use
 Impermeable surfaces and urban runoff
discharged into waterways
 Motor oil, lawn fertilizers, heavy metals

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Long commutes
Traffic congested streets
Buildup of airborne emissions due to cars
and industry
Noise pollution
Urban heat island
Local heat buildup in an area of high
population density
Affect local air currents and weather
conditions
Contribute to buildup of pollutants- dust
54domes
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 Environmental Benefits of
Urbanization
Well-planned city can benefit the environment
Reduces pollution
Preserves rural areas
Compact Development
Design of cities where residential buildings are
close to shopping, jobs and public transportation

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 Materials and energy balances

Materials balances
Mass balances are applied to rivers, lakes, or treatment
basins, where the problem is to find the concentration of a
substance at a location or its rate of change in a section.
Material balances are useful as a check on measurements
of all streams that may be difficult or impossible to measure
directly.
Mathematically, mass balance can be illustrated by three
equations:
 Con`t

1.What comes in equals what goes out

(Steady state)
Input = Output
2.Material accumulates within the system
Accumulation = Input – Output
3.Material is produced or consumed within
 Con`t

Tools for quantitative understanding of the

behavior of environmental systems.
For accounting of the flow of energy and
materials into and out of the environmental
systems.
 Unifying Theories
The law of conservation of matter states that
(without nuclear reaction) matter can neither be
created nor destroyed.
We ought to be able to account for the “matter” at
any point in time.
The mathematical representation of this accounting
system is called a materials balance or mass balance.
 Con`t
The law of conservation of energy states that
energy cannot be created or destroyed.
Meaning that we should be able to account for
the “energy” at any point in time.
The mathematical representation of this
accounting system we use to trace energy is
called an energy balance.
 Con`t

The simplest form of a materials balance or mass

balance
Accumulation = input – output

input output
Accumulation
Environmental System
(Natural or Device)
 Time as a factor
Mass rate of accumulation = Mass rate of input
– Mass rate of output
 Example 1
Selam is filling her bathtub but she forgot to put the plug
in. if the volume of water for a bath is 0.350 m3 and the
tap is flowing at 1.32 L/min and the drain is running at
0.32 L/min, how long will it take to fill the tub to bath
level? Assuming Selam shuts off the water when the tub is
full and does not flood the house, how much water will be
wasted? Assume the density of water is 1,000 kg/m3
 Solution
From mass balance we have
Accumulation = mass in –mass out
Vacc = (Qin)(t) – (Qo)(t)
Vacc = 1.32t – 0.32t
350L = (1.00 L/min)(t)
t= 350 min
The amount of wasted water is

 Example 2
An industry discharges its liquid waste into a river that has a minimum
flow rate of 10 m3/s. The major pollutant in the waste is a conservative
material called P. The waste stream has a flow rate of 0.1 m 3/s, and the
concentration of P in the waste stream is 3000 mg/L. upstream
pollution has cause a concentration of 20 mg/L P in the river upstream
of the industrial discharge under the minimum flow rate conditions.
The state regulatory agency has set a maximum limit of 100 mg/L P in
the river. Assume that complete mixing occurs in the river. Will the
industry be able to discharge the waste without treatment?
 Solution
Industry

Qw = 0.1 m3/s
System boundary Cw = 3000 mg/L

Qi = 10 m3/s
Qo = 10.1 m /s
3
Ci = 20 mg/L
Co = ?

A material balance on P for an interval of 1 second is,

Input = Output
Input u/s river + Input waste = Output d/s river or
QiCi + QwCw = QoCo
Substituting and solving for Co,
Co = 49.5 mg/L
 Example 3
The air pollution control equipment on a municipal waste
incinerator includes a fabric filter particle collector (known as a
baghouse). The baghouse contains 424 cloth bags arranged in
parallel, that is 1/424 of the flow goes through each bag. The gas
flow rate into and out of the baghouse is 47 m3/s, and the
concentration of particles entering the baghouse is 15 g/m3. In
normal operation the baghouse particulate discharge meets the
regulatory limit of 24 mg/m3.
 THANK YOU!!!

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