Description

Wastewater is any water that has been adversely affected in quality by anthropogenic
influence meaning it has been contaminated. It is defined as the presence of impurities in water
in such quantity and of such nature as to impair its uses. The components that make up the
wastewater flow from a community depend on the type of collection system used and may
include the following:
1. Domestic (also called Sanitary) wastewater- waste water discharge from residences
and from commercial, institutional and similar facilities.
2. Industrial wastewater- wastewater in which industrial waste predominate.
3. Infiltration or Inflow- water that enters the sewer system through direct and indirect
means.
4. Storm Water runoff resulting from rainfall or snowmelt
Wastewater treatment is the process of removing contaminants from wastewater. This
includes processes to remove physical, chemical and biological contaminants to produce an
environmentally safe fluid waste system known as treated effluent. With suitable technology, it
is possible to re-use sewage effluent as a water source. The treatment objectives include the
removal of suspended and floatable material, treatment of biodegradable organics, elimination of
pathogenic organisms, removal of toxic compounds such as refractory organics and heavy metals
and removal of nutrients. Wastewater Treatment System has four major divisions which are
preliminary (the removal of large solids to prevent damage to the remainder of the unit
operations), primary (removal of portion of suspended solids and organic matter by settling or
sedimentation), secondary (removal of biodegradable organics and includes biological treatment)
and tertiary(removal of nutrients, Nitrogen and Phosphorous ).
The contaminants of concern in the wastewater treatment are:
1. Suspended solids- can lead to the development of sludge deposits and anaerobic
conditions (absence of oxygen).
2. Biodegradable Organics- composed of proteins, Carbohydrates and fats.
3. Pathogens- communicable diseases can be transmitted by pathogenic organisms.
4. Nutrients- both Nitrogen and Phosphorous, along with Carbon.
5. Priority Pollutants- Organic and inorganic compounds.
6. Refractory organics- these organics tend to resist conventional mathods of wastewater
treatment.
7. Heavy metals- these are usually added to wastewater from commercial and industrial
activities.
8. Dissolved inorganics- inorganic constituents such as Calcium, Sodium and Sulfate.

Saint Louis University is one of the major Schools in Baguio City having 34,687 student
population according to the SLU website and this does not include the professors and workers.
With this population, imagine how many cubic meters of waste water is produced everyday.
Waste water from the main campus is delivered through the waste water system along with other
sewage going Sanitary Camp Wastewater Treatment Facility. Typically, waste water from the
university is classified as domestic, infiltration and storm water. Introducing a Sanitary
wastewater treatment facility will help in recycling and reusing wastewater. It is great alternative
for water. This will help decrease expenses on water since the university draws out some of its
water source from deep wells which utilizes electricity to run the pumps.