Quantification and qualification of the urban domestic pollution discharged per household and per resident.

Vivien Dubois,Catherine Boutin,Eva Falipou

doi:10.2166/wst.2022.064

Abstract

The research study aims to analyze the discharges of solely domestic wastewater from 15 single-family dwellings. This sizable dataset, containing over 300 unique and insightful data points, makes it possible to accurately qualify the raw wastewater in terms of concentrations, volumes and pollutant loads. Findings quantify the extremely wide data variability. As such, for single-family households of fewer than six residents, it is suggested not to use the standard P.E. pollution value as the design load, but rather a load range defined by the interval [10th percentile, 90th percentile] of the data distribution, i.e. [123; 568 L·d- 1] and [30; 281 g BOD5·d-1], respectively, for the daily hydraulic and organic loads. Also, an analysis of the hydraulic peak factor would tend to lobby in favor of a collective sewer solution. For subdivisions and residential zones with little economic activity and similar French lifestyle, the daily domestic pollution per resident is now determined with the values: 40 g suspended solids, 94 g carbon oxygen demand, 40 g five-day biochemical oxygen demand, 6.7 g NH4+-N, 10.4 g Kjeldhal nitrogen, and 1.2 g total phosphorus for a volume of 83 L. Those data could be used to optimize design and operation of decentralized or small-scale wastewater treatment plant.

Highlights

The quantification and qualification of pollution contained in wastewater are among the basic technical data inherent in a facility design adapted to effluent collection and treatment
As regards domestic wastewater, which is the topic of the present paper, the chemical measurement used to characterize the concentrations have been in effect for a long time
This paper provides the main results relative to the concentrations and timelines of the raw domestic wastewater volumes to be treated for individual homes

Summary

Introduction

The quantification and qualification of pollution contained in wastewater are among the basic technical data inherent in a facility design adapted to effluent collection and treatment This principle is valid for all types of pollution, regardless of its origin, whether domestic or industrial. National regulations, applied in many countries for at least a half-century, have promoted a widespread reliance on analyses to verify the quality of the treated wastewater as well as to learn more about influents, in the aim of optimizing both treatment plants design and operation These influent concentrations are variable and mainly depend on the kind of network and degree of dilution, by rainwater and/or the seepage of clean water (water table drainage, runoff connected to a separate network ...). At the individual dwelling scale, as characterized by a very short network and the complete absence of dilution due to external sources, wastewater characteristics remain relatively unknown, with the notable exception of recent works by Lowe et al (2007, 2009) and Pishgar et al (2021)

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Discussion

Conclusion