TODAY’S FUEL CELL AND CELL PHONE OF WATER AND WASTEWATER TREATMENT Clint Elston* Abstract: Human waste and the health problems associated with it have been with us since the beginning of time. These problems increased at the point in history when we started using water to clean things. About 3,300 B.C., we began using it to move human waste to a different location from where it originated, further complicating the issue. Wastewater treatment didn't really begin until we started realizing that there were problems with how we were disposing of the untreated wastewater. Conventional wastewater treatment assumes that a co-mingled stream of toilet wastes mixed in with greywater from sinks, showers and the laundry can be eventually separated at the end of the sewer or septic pipe. With the daily reports of water shortages, environmental pollution and contamination from new sources, such as pharmaceuticals, resulting from those traditional methods, in order to solve those problems steps should be taken to separate and treat the pollutants at the source. Pressure is increasing to introduce pollution reducing, water conserving and recycling measures for sustainable residential and small community water/wastewater systems. Media accounts of inadequate water quality and quantity are being reported daily. Since the terrorist acts to the New York World Trade Center and Pentagon, community water supplies and reserves have become potential targets for bio-terrorism. Systems utilizing blackwater (wastewater from toilets, urinals and garbage disposals) separation and greywater treatment—filtration and disinfection technologies for partial or total reuse—represent a logical and economic option for reducing and eliminating these pressures and improving national security. With threats of bio-terrorism of our water supplies, present day wars being fought over water related issues, billions of people worldwide without sanitation and clean water, a new sustainable paradigm of “Doing More With Less” offers the most logical, economic and environmental approach for enhancing people’s standard of living while reducing the impact on the water supplies. KEY TERMS: blackwater/greywater separation & treatment, pollution prevention, water recycling, water conservation, closed-loop/zero discharge INTRODUCTION Many communities throughout the U.S. are approaching or surpassing existing sewage treatment plant capacities and are not able to satisfy service demands for new residential and commercial users. Individual states and the federal government cannot provide the trillions of dollars that are required to repair and expand wastewater treatment facilities and infrastructure systems, and the situation is causing economic stagnation in many communities, contributing to as well as contamination of groundwater, lakes and streams. Neither septic systems nor municipal piped water and sewage systems are capable of removing most chemicals from the wastewater stream. Pharmaceuticals, nitrates and other untreated chemicals discharged by sewage treatment plants are damaging the environment all over the world, with effects that include water quality compromises and genetic damage to wildlife. In many communities sewage treatment system decisions are commonly made in the private sector on the basis of financial considerations. In communities with no centralized facilities, developers typically select the most familiar, affordable and easily-installed on-site systems. Once installed, such systems may not be maintained or inspected unless malfunctions occur, which can result in contamination of ground and surface water. Unfortunately, outdated state and local regulatory codes discourage the use of new technologies, even those with proven performance, and this results in economic loss as well as inferior waste treatment performance. Even at their best, conventional waste treatment systems cannot meet reasonable performance standards. They do not reduce nutrient pollution or pharmaceutical contamination, they require large volumes of water and substantial land area, and rely on dilution rather than removal, and cannot be sustained indefinitely. The U.S. operates with an aging infrastructure for both municipal water and sewer systems, which is stressed by population growth and increasing demand. The pressures on wastewater treatment and municipal water resources will place increasing financial pressure on states, cities, businesses and individuals. There is a clear need for new options and process technologies to deliver these important services. DEBUNKED MYTH For almost 100 years, the "standard and traditional" multi-gallon flush toilet transportation system, used in conjunction with either a septic or sewer type wastewater treatment system, has removed only a small part of humanity from the honey ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ *President, Equaris Corporation, P.O. Box 6, Afton, MN 55001, 651-337-0261 phone, 651-337-0265 fax, [email protected] 1bucket and outhouse. According to a 1995 American Housing Survey by the U.S. Census Bureau, approximately one-fourth of the estimated 109 million housing units in this country are served with septic tanks or cesspools receiving and discharging 175 billion gallons of wastewater per year. Septic tanks or cesspools receive a co-mingled waste stream comprised of greywater polluted further by toilet wastes moved with copious amounts of clean drinking quality water—an average of 75 to 125 gallons of water per person per day. It's still assumed that by diluting (the solution to pollution is dilution) and transporting the wastes to the septic tank and then passing the discharged wastewater through soil, it would reduce health risks associated with human wastes and filter out the pathogens. In reality, it actually increases the pollution problem and energy requirements for the water pumping system. It also creates a greater demand, and shortens the life, of the treatment and disposal system. In 1995, more than 2.5 million septic tanks in America were reported as malfunctioning (or having a total breakdown of the system). Today, there will be some 7,000 septic tank malfunctions reported. According to the housing survey, 10.2 percent of septic systems for occupied housing units malfunctioned at least once a year. Groundwater has
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