Wastewater

Wastewater (or waste water) is water generated after the use of drinking water, fresh water, raw water, or saline water in a variety of deliberate applications or processes.[1]: 1  Another definition of wastewater is "Used water from any combination of domestic, industrial, commercial or agricultural activities, surface runoff / storm water, and any sewer infiltration or sewer inflow".[2]: 175  In everyday usage, wastewater is commonly a synonym for sewage (also called domestic wastewater or municipal wastewater), which is wastewater that is produced by a community of people.

As a generic term, wastewater may also describe water containing contaminants accumulated in other settings, such as:

  • Industrial wastewater: waterborne waste generated from a variety of industrial processes, such as manufacturing operations, mineral extraction, power generation, or water and wastewater treatment.
  • Cooling water, is released with potential thermal pollution after use to condense steam or reduce machinery temperatures by conduction or evaporation.
  • Leachate: precipitation containing pollutants dissolved while percolating through ores, raw materials, products, or solid waste.
  • Return flow: the flow of water carrying suspended soil, pesticide residues, or dissolved minerals and nutrients from irrigated cropland.
  • Surface runoff: the flow of water occurring on the ground surface when excess rainwater, stormwater, meltwater, or other sources, can no longer sufficiently rapidly infiltrate the soil.
  • Urban runoff, including water used for outdoor cleaning activity and landscape irrigation in densely populated areas created by urbanization.
  • Agricultural wastewater: animal husbandry wastewater generated from confined animal operations.

References

  1. ^ Tchobanoglous, George; Burton, Franklin L.; Stensel, H. David; Metcalf & Eddy (2003). Wastewater engineering : treatment and reuse (4th ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill. ISBN 0-07-041878-0. OCLC 48053912.
  2. ^ Tilley, E.; Ulrich, L.; Lüthi, C.; Reymond, Ph.; Zurbrügg, C. (2014). Compendium of Sanitation Systems and Technologies – (2nd Revised ed.). Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag), Duebendorf, Switzerland. ISBN 978-3-906484-57-0. Archived from the original on 8 April 2016.
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