Performance Evaluation of conventional Sewage Treatment Plant, Iraq

Abstract

One of the most pressing challenges facing contemporary health is the purification of drinking water and wastewater. Pollutants in wastewater are among the most widespread in the environment, and there is a broad spectrum of detrimental impacts associated with untreated or badly treated wastewater. The current research assessed the efficacy of the Al Rumaitha wastewater treatment facility in Muthanna province, Iraq, in eliminating municipal pollutants according to national standards. Pollutant characteristics were measured using samples taken both from the plant’s raw wastewater intake and its finished treated water output. These parameters are the Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD5), Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), Total Suspended Solids(TSS), Ammonia (NH3), Phosphorus (PO4), and the quantitative measure of the acidity or basicity (pH). According to the results, all analyses of collected samples of the plant’s effluent met the Iraqi water quality standards(IWQS) for pH, COD, BOD5, and TSS, whereas the values of NH3 and PO4 did not reach the (IWQS) in all months. where mean monthly removal efficiencies of 86% for BOD5, 80% for COD, 93% for TSS, 39% for PO4, and 27% for NH3 were achieved. Briefly, it can be said that the Al-Rumaitha WWTP has an acceptable level of efficacy in treating wastewater for some of the examined parameters and providing water in line with Iraqi environmental regulations, but not for others.