Environmental Health and Safety Essay.

Compare and contrast the secondary water treatment methods to tertiary water treatment (also known as advanced or final water treatment) methods, in the context of the wastewater treatment process. Discuss the appropriate uses of reclaimed water. Please provide, at least three examples. Explain whether you would recommend secondary treatment or tertiary treatment for the groundwater recharge, if this water were to end up being used for drinking. Describe the rationale of your choice.

After wastewater has gone through the first process of purification called the Primary Treatment Process it will be sent through another process called Secondary Treatment. In this process about 90% of the organic matter will be removed by using biological treatments (H Bengston). The two methods mostly used are attached and suspended growth process. During the attached growth process microbial growth occurs on stone or plastic surfaces. The wastewater will then pass over the media along with air which provides oxygen.Environmental Health and Safety Essay.

Some attached growth process units include bio towers, rotating biological contactors and trickling filters which are all effective at removing biodegradable organic material from the wastewater. “The process of the suspended growth process is similar to the attached process in that it is designed to remove biodegradable organic material and organic nitrogen-containing material by converting ammonia nitrogen to nitrate” (H Bengston). In suspended growth processes the microbial growth is suspended in an aerated water mixture where air is pumped in or the water is agitated enough to allow oxygen transfer.

Some units of the suspended growth process are activated sludge, sequencing batch reactors and oxidation ditches. In many cases the suspended growth process is preferred over the attached growth process because it speeds up the work of aerobic bacteria and other microorganisms that break down the organic matter in the sewage by providing a rich aerobic environment where the microorganisms in the wastewater can work more efficiently. An aeration tank is used to vigorously mix the wastewater with air and microorganisms which allows the bacteria to break down organic matter in the wastewater.Environmental Health and Safety Essay.

It is hard to believe but 50% of our drinking water isn’t used for human consumption it is used for irrigation which cost the U. S. millions of dollars with the improvements of water purification and treatment researchers have decided that instead of using drinking water to ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH AND SAFETY irrigate the lands we can use reclaimed water. “Reclaimed water is simply water that has been highly treated to get rid of any microorganisms that would make the water unsafe for human consumption (SWF water management district)”.

The benefits of using reclaimed water is that it costs less than drinking water, reduces fertilizer use, reduces the stress of drinking water supplies, reduces the disposal into water bodies which can help reduce nutrients in bays and rivers. Reclaimed water can be used for irrigation of lawns landscapes and golf courses, decorative fountains, natural systems restoration and groundwater recharge. Because reclaimed water still have microorganisms in it, it cannot be consumed by humans nor can it be used in swimming pools, cooking or drinking, and irrigation of crops unless a drip or bubbler system is used.Environmental Health and Safety Essay.

Conclusion I feel that either way would be ok for millions of years water has been naturally purified by the ground and now that we have the capabilities to purify water by using the secondary or tertiary methods why wouldn’t we us which ever method will get the water the cleanest. However back home in North Carolina my grandmother had a well in her back yard and everybody in my family drank from that well for years and never got sick.Environmental Health and Safety Essay.