Chapter 2

WATER TREATMENT
INTRODUCTION
Water treatment: Purify
undesirable chemical, physical and biological
impurities from contaminated water .

Why we treat water?

To provide safe and clean drinking water - Protect
public health
How can we provide safe & clean drinking
water?
Identify better water source
◦ In terms of Quantity, Quality, Location, Cost,
Sustainability
 Protect water source from contamination
◦ Watershed management
 Apply appropriate treatment for the water source
 Safe distribution of treated water
 Introduction
 All surface water and some
groundwater require
treatment prior to
consumption
◦ to ensure that they do not
represent a health risk to the
user.
 Health risks to consumers
from poor quality water can
be due to:
◦ Microbiological contamination
 Cont …
 Microbiologicalcontamination is generally the
most important to human health
◦ as it leads to infectious diseases

 Chemicalcontamination, with the exception of

a few substances such as cyanide and nitrate,
tends to represent a more long-term health
risk.
◦ nitrate which can cause methaemoglobinaemenia
(lack of oxygen in infants) in babies

 Physical contamination may also represent a

health risk as it extends microbial survival.
Cont …
 Most treatment systems are designed:
◦ to remove microbiological contamination and
◦ to remove those physical constituents which
affect the acceptability or promote
microorganism survival
A disinfectant is nearly always included in
treatment plants of any size for two main
reasons:
i. to inactivate any remaining bacteria as the
final unit of treatment
ii. to provide a residual disinfectant which will
kill any bacteria introduced during storage
and/or distribution.
 Objective of Water Treatment

 The main objective of the treatment process is:

◦ to remove the impurities of raw water and bring
the quality of water to the required standard
 The objective may be summarized as follow:
i. Preventing disease transmission

ii. Making the water acceptable

iii. Protecting the distribution system

Methods of Water Treatment
 The common methods/processes of water
treatment (water purification) are:
i. Screening and grit removal
ii. Aeration
iii. Plain sedimentation
iv. Coagulation and flocculation
v. Secondary sedimentation and sludge
management
vi. Filtration
vii. Softening
viii.Disinfections
Surface Water Treatment
Typical treatment plant for surface water:
1)Screening and grit removal

2)Aeration

3)Primary sedimentation
4)Coagulation and flocculation

5)Secondary sedimentation and sludge

processing

6)Filtration

7)Disinfection
Groundwater Treatment
Typical treatment plant for groundwater :
1)Aeration (gas transfer method)

2)Softening

3)Re-carbonation

4)Defluoridation

5)Disinfection
Water Treatment – Process
Water Intake Screening

Aeration

Coagulation Pre-Sedimentation

Flocculation Sedimentation pH Adjustment

Filtration
Distribution Disinfection
 Chapter 3

PRELIMINARY WATER
TREATMENT PROCESS
 Screening
 Aeration
Screening
 passing the water through closely spaced
bars, gratings or perforated plates.
◦ to remove large solids and floating matter as
leaves, dead animals, fish etc (larger than the
screen openings).
 does not change the chemical or
bacteriological quality of the water.
 Screening
 Purposes:

◦ Removal of floating and suspended matter which

clogs pipes, damages pumps, etc.
◦ Clarification by removal of suspended matter to
lighten the load on subsequent treatment
processes.
 Types of screen
i. Coarse/Bar screens - 7.5 - 10cm opening
ii. Fine/Mesh screens - with opening of 0.05 – 2cm
 Mostly bars are kept inclined so that they can be
cleaned easily with a rake.
 Angle of inclination of bars:
◦ 60 - 75° if screening is very small
Screening
 Headloss through coarse screen

( )
𝟐 𝟐
𝟏 𝑽 𝟐 −𝑽 𝟏
𝒉𝒍 =
𝒄 𝟐𝒈

Where:
c = empirical discharge coefficient to account for
turbulence and eddy motion
= 0.7 for clean bar
= 0.6 for clogged bar screen V1
V2 = velocity of flow through openings
V2
V1 = approaching velocity in the
upstream channel (Va)
Figure: Screen
Headloss Calculation
· Coarse Screens (clean)
h 𝐿 =
𝑏 ( )
𝑤 4/ 3 𝑣2
2𝑔
sin  Kirschmer (1926)

Where w = maximum width of the bar facing the flow,

m
b = min. clear spacing of bars, m
v = velocity of flow approaching the rack,
m/s  = bar shape factor, as follows
Bar type 
Sharp-edged rectangular 2.42
Rectangular with semicircular
1.83
upstream face
Circular 1.79
Rectangular with semicircular u/s / d/s
1.67
Screening
Headloss through fine screen

( )
𝟐
𝟏 𝑸
𝒉𝒍 =
𝒄(𝟐 𝒈) 𝑨
Where
c = empirical discharge coefficient to account for
turbulence and eddy motion (c = 0.6)
Q = discharge (m3/s)
A = effective opening area of the screen
 Headloss allowance:
◦ Up to 0.1 to 0.2m if regular cleaning is done
◦ 0.5 - 1.0m if there is delay and mechanical failure
Screening
Example 1
Determine the building up of headloss through a
bar screen when 50% of the flow area is blocked
off by the accumulation of coarse solids. Assume
the following conditions are applied.
Approach velocity, V1 = 0.6m/s
Velocity through a clean bar screen, V2 = 0.9m/s
Open area for flow through clean bar screen =
0.19m2

Ans:
Screening
Exercise 2
Design a coarse screen and calculate the head loss
through the rack, using the following information:
Peak design wet weather flow = 0.631 m3/s
Velocity through rack at peak wet weather flow = 0.9
m/s
Velocity through rack at maximum design dry weather
flow = 0.6 m/s
 = 60, with a mechanical cleaning device
Upstream depth of water = 1.12m
Use 25 mm clear opening between bars
Use bars with 10 mm width and 50 mm thick
Use rectangular bars with semicircular upstream face
Aeration
is the process of bringing water in intimate contact
with air, while doing so water absorbs oxygen from the
air.
Objective:
i. Removes taste and odor caused by gases due to
organic decomposition like H2S, CH4, NH3
ii. Increases the dissolved oxygen (DO) content of
the water
iii. Decreases the CO2 content of water (> 10mg/l)
and thereby reduces its corrosiveness and raises
its pH value
Aeration
iv. Converts iron and manganese from their
soluble states to their insoluble states, so that
these precipitated and removed
v. Due to agitation of water during aeration,
bacteria may be killed to some extent
vi. Effective in removing volatile substances
(benzene) from water
Aeration
 Aeration removes or modifies the constituents of
water using two methods:
◦ scrubbing action
◦ oxidation
 Scrubbing action
◦ is caused by turbulence which results when the
water and air mix together.
◦ remove tastes and odors from water if the problem is
caused by relatively volatile gases and organics not
due to algae.
◦ physically removes gases from solution in the water,
allowing them to escape into the surrounding air.
 CO2 and H2S
Aeration
 Excessive amounts of CO2 in raw water can
cause:
◦ Increases the acidity of the water, making it
corrosive.
◦ Tends to keep iron in solution.
◦ causing an increase in the amount of lime needed
for the softening reaction.
 When the water contains even small amounts
of H2S:
◦ Disinfection of the water
5ppm: can become
Moderate odor less
10ppm: Eye irritation begins
effective because
Level of H S
of H2S chlorine
30ppm: Strong,
demand.
unpleasant odor of
2
rotten egg to piping systems and the water tanks,
◦ Corrosion
100ppm: Loss of smell
Aeration
 Oxidation
 is the other process through which aeration
purifies water.
 Oxidation is the addition of oxygen, the removal
of hydrogen, or the removal of electrons from an
element or compound.
 When air is mixed with water, some impurities in
the water, such as iron and manganese, become
oxidized.
◦ suspended in the water

◦ removed through filtration

Aeration
 The Iron and Manganese may be removed as a
precipitate after aeration.
 Chemically, these reactions may be written as
follows:


4Fe2+ + O2 + 10H2O  4Fe(OH) 3 + 8H+

2Mn2+ + O2 + 2H2O  2MnO2  + 4H+

Types of aerators
i. Gravity aerator
ii. Spray aerator
iii. Air diffuser
iv. Mechanical aerator
i. Gravity aerators
a) Cascade towers
◦ consists of a series of steps that the water flows over.

Inlet
chamber
Collection
Chamber

◦ The splashing of water creates turbulence and water

droplets
Types of aerators
i. Gravity aerators
b) Inclined apron possibly shaded with plates
Inlet
chambe plates
r
Collectio
n
Chamber

c) Tray aerator
◦ water falls through a series of trays perforated
with small holes, 5 - 12mm diameter and 25 -
75mm spacing center to center.
Types of aerators
c) Tray aerator
 built in stacks of 4 - 6 trays giving a total height
of 1.2 - 3m.
 may be filled with layers of activated charcoal

or gravel of 50mm size to insure purification.

Types of aerators
ii. Spray aerators
◦ spray droplets of water into the air from
stationary or moving orifices or nozzles.
◦ water is pumped through pressure nozzles to
spray in the open air as in fountain to a height of
about 2.5m.
Types of aerators
iii. Air diffuser
◦ In diffused aeration systems, water is contained
in basins.
◦ Compressed air is forced into this system
through the diffusers.
◦ The air bubbles up through the water, mixing
water and air and introducing oxygen into the
water.
Types of aerators
iv. Mechanical Aerator
◦ These aerators work by vigorously agitating
source water with mechanical mixers.
◦ Mechanical aeration systems are able to remove
most volatile contaminants