FACULTY: ENGINEERING

DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING & SURVEYING

MEMORANDUM: FINAL TEST: FULL MARKS: 100

SUBJECT PAGES: TIME:

WATER & WASTE WATER Inclusive of ANNEXURES: 2hrs
TREATMENT cover page 5
09:00hrs -11:00hrs
CODE DATE: JUNE 2017
WER201S

COURSE: ND :- CIVIL ENGINEERING

ASSESSOR: Mr Crispen Mutsvangwa

INTERNAL MODERATOR: Dr Yaw Owusu-Asante

INSTRUCTIONS

 Answer ALL questions

 Write all your answers in the answer book
 Start each question on a fresh answer sheet
 Illustrate your answers with well labelled sketches where appropriate
 You may take with you this question paper
 Write in ink and you may draw in pencil
 In section B answer only one question (Question 2 or 3)


REQUIREMENTS

Scientific calculator

DO NOT TURN OVER UNTIL INSTRUCTED TO DO SO

Page 1 of 8
 SECTION A [32 marks]

ANSER ALL QUESTIONS IN THIS SECTION

QUESTION 1

Write only the letter corresponding to your answer in the answer book

1 The wastewater from kitchens, bathrooms and laundry is called:

A. Solid waste
B. Garbage
C. Sullage
D. None of the above

2 The initial and final dissolved oxygen concentration measured during a BOD test were
500mg/l and 100mg/l respectively. If the volume of the BOD bottle and the sample
wastewater were 300ml and 200ml respectively, the measured BOD of the wastewater will
be:
A. 503mg/l
B. 555mg/l
C. 597mg/l
D. 602mg/l.

3 A separate sewerage system is the one which transports

A. Domestic wastes, industrial wastes and infiltration
B. Domestic wastes and stormwater
C. Domestic wastes, industrial wastes, infiltration and stormwater
D. Domestic and stormwater

4 Velocity is maintained constant in a constant grit channel by

A. A parabolic section in the channel and a flume upstream of channel
B. A parabolic section in the channel and flume downstream of channel
C. A parabolic section in the channel
D. A flume downstream of channel

5 The main objective of a grit channel is:

A. To settle inert material and leaving organic matter in suspension
B. To make velocity constant in the channel
C. To remove BOD
D. To remove primary sludges

6 Grit storage is provided in the channel to

A Reduce the depth of channel
B Reduce the width of channel
C Reduce horizontal velocity
D Reduce the frequency of manual cleaning

7 Return factor is
A. Ratio of wastewater generated to water supplied
B. Ratio of design wastewater flow to present sewage flow
C. Ratio of maximum hourly flow to minimum hourly flow of wastewater
D. All of the above

8 Which statement is not true with regards to the disposal of screenings?

A. Burial:-pits are dug and the disposed screenings are covered with a layer of soil to
prevent fly-breeding and smells

Page 2 of 8
 B. Burial is the most cost effective method of disposal but can pollute the groundwater
depending on the conditions of the water table.
C. Incineration:- Cheap and with no risk in groundwater pollution
D. Shredding of the screens and then returning them to the wastewater for further
treatment.

9 Eutrophication is a result of the following growth limiting elements:-

A Phosphorous, Nitrogen, Iron
B Phosphorous, Nitrogen, Calcium
C Phosphorous, Nitrogen, Manganese
D Phosphorous, Nitrogen, Carbon

10 One of the following characteristics is not true for a constant velocity grit channel:-
A. it is expensive and complicated
B. It is easier to operate and maintain
C. Has very low operational costs
D. None of the above

11 Biological filters can be described as:-

A Filtration of wastewater through a sand media
B Fixed film process
C Dispersed growth of process
D Suspended growth process

12 In comparison with activated sludge treatment process, biological filters have the
following advantage:-
A. Low nutrient removal
B. High BOD removal
C. No odours or fly nuisance
D. Low operating and maintenance costs

13 In rectangular sedimentation tanks, the settled sludge is collected together at

A. Mid distance of the tank in the bottom
B. Outlet end below the overflow baffle
C. Mid distance of the tank over water surface
D. In the sludge hooper below the inlet section

14 Which waste water treatment process has the highest removal rates of BOD?
A. Sedimentation
B. Activated sludge process
C. Sedimentation and percolation filters
D. Sedimentation and activated sludge process

15 Preliminary treatment is accomplished by

A. Screens and grit channels
B. Sedimentation tanks
C. Activated sludge
D. Trickling filters

16 Biofilters are more versatile in responding to changes in flow and character of wastewater
because of
A The large reserve of biomass
B Large diameter
C The fixed film
D The dispersed growth of biomass

Page 3 of 8
 SECTION B [80 Marks

Answer ONE question in this section (either Question 2 or Question 3)

QUESTION 2 [28 Marks]

a) State 3 main objectives for treating wastewater prior to disposal. [3 marks]

Objectives of wastewater treatment

 reduction of organic bound energy to levels such that the heterotrophic growth and
associated deoxygenation effects in the receiving water body are acceptably low i.e.
oxidation of reduced organic matter.

 reduction of autotrophic substances to levels such that photosynthetic growths and

their capacity to fix solar energy as to form organic energy in the receiving body of
water are acceptably low (oxidation of reduced inorganic compounds).

 to reduce the spread of diseases caused by pathogens present in wastewater

 to reduce environment damage caused by polluting matter present in wastewater like
ground and surface water

b) Describe the advantages and disadvantages of a COD Test [7 marks]

Test Advantage Disadvantage

COD  simple and inexpensive  does not oxidise ammonia
 comparatively rapid (data available  many non-biodegradable
within 3hr) organic compounds exert
 gives an accurate indication of the an oxygen demand
fraction of the wastewater amenable to  interference from high
biodegradation concentrations of chloride
 good reproducibility (  5-10%) ions

c) State 3 advantages and 3 disadvantages of percolating filters [6 Marks]

Advantages
 Requires less supervision and/or skilled manpower
 Filters are more versatile in responding to changes in flow and character of
wastewater. This is because of the large reserve of biomass, which makes
them less susceptible to load variations than suspended growth systems
 They are able to recover from shock loads within a short time
 Compared with activated sludge technology biological filters require less
energy
 Operating and maintenance costs are low

Page 4 of 8
Disadvantages
 They are uneconomic in serving populations greater than 50 000 (Gray,
1992), because of high capital costs
 Occupy relatively large areas.
 Excessive accumulation of film on filters causes clogging (ponding) leading
to nuisance from flies
 Their effluent contains fairly large amounts of nutrients (nitrates and
phosphates).

d) Describe the effects of recirculation in percolating filters. [4 marks]

 Dilutes concentration of BOD of the filter influent

 Provides uniform hydraulic loading by evening out the large diurnal fluctuations
in flow
 Provides effective wetting of media
 Reduce microbial wetting film thickness and reduce ponding
 The increased hydraulic loading has the effect of pushing the biofilm further
down

e) Draw any reactor configuration applied in the removal of nitrates and organic
matter in activated sludge process. [4 marks]

Denitrified
Q effluent
Denitrification Nitrification
Clarifier

Air
Anoxic
zone Aerobic zone
Qw

RAS

Reactor configuration for the integrated approach/conventional

Waste sludge

Inflow Aerobic Final

Anoxic Humus
Tank

Return activated

Wurhrmann-nitrification-denitrification activated sludge process

Page 5 of 8
 f) Describe the reasons why you would recommend activated sludge process.
[4 marks]

 It produces an effluent, which complies for most of the times with final effluent
disposal guidelines
 High removal rates of BOD and nutrients (nitrates, phosphates etc)
 The process requires less land compared to other treatment processes.
 The process is associated with less odours and health risks.

QUESTION 3 [28 Marks

(a) State 4 advantages and 4 disadvantages of wastewater stabilisations ponds.

[8 marks]

Advantages

 BOD removal is relatively high (Table 3) with low nutrient removal

 can easily treat strong wastewater from agro-industrial processes e.g.
abattoirs, food canneries and dairies
 has a high efficiency in the removal of pathogens (99.9 %)
 WSP are the only secondary treatment process that can readily and reliably
produce safe effluents for reuse in agriculture and aquaculture
 can handle a reasonable volume of wastewater
 can withstand hydraulic and organic shock loads
 can cope with high levels of heavy metals up to 60 mg/l (Mara, 1997)
 requires low or no energy at all
 is cheap to design and construct
 is easy to maintain and operate.

Disadvantages:

 Requires large space, hence not economic for large works.

 pose a health hazard to surrounding communities as ponds can become
breeding places for flies and mosquitoes if they are poorly maintained.
 releases offensive odour when improperly maintained.
 less removal of eutrophic nutrients. Final effluent contains high levels of
enriching nitrates and phosphates.
 There is heavy concentration of algae in effluent which may reverse the
treatment process

(b) Draw a sketch showing the biological reactions of bacteria and algae in a facultative
pond. [5 marks]

Page 6 of 8
(c) Describe the main functions of maturation ponds [5 marks]

 To reduce the bacterial content of the effluent (main function)

 To further reduce the content of biodegradable material (BOD)
 To remove suspended solids
 To oxidize ammonia in the effluent to nitrate
 To remove nutrient salts

(d) List 5 advantages and 5 disadvantages of aerobic sludge digestion. [10 marks]

Advantages of aerobic digestion

 lower BOD concentration in supernatant liquor
 production of odorless stable end products
 recovery of more of the basic fertilizer value in the sludge
 operation relatively easy
 lower capital cost
 Many different organisms which can be employed in the oxidation of complex
organic materials and therefore less likely to be affected by toxic substances.

Disadvantages of aerobic digestion

 High power for aeration
 Sludge produced difficult to dewater
 Process affected by temperature, location and type of tank
 Useful by products like methane not recovered
 Process can not be enhanced through heating because raising temperature
reduce the solubility of oxygen, although in heating may be necessary in
extreme cold climates.

SECTION C

Answer all questions in this section

QUESTION 4 [40 Marks]

The following design parameters are applicable in the design of some units of a
wastewater plant:-

Page 7 of 8
 Number of households =5000
Number of persons per household =6
Population growth =2.5%
Design horizon =10 years
Per capita water demand =180litres/ca.day
Return flow =75%
Infiltration =15%
Approach velocity in the screen =1.2m/s
Diameter of bars =30 mm
Spacing of bars =25 mm
(The two bars at the edges of the screen are at a distance of 20mm from the edge)
Number of bars =40
Shape factor =1.7
Angle of inclination of screen =60 degrees
Throat width of the flume for the constant velocity grit channel=0.225m

(a) Compute the following:-

i) Projected population [3 marks]

ii) Peak factor [3 marks]
iii) PWWF [8 marks]
iv) Head loss through the screen at PWWF [9 marks]
v) Head of water downstream of screen if the head of water upstream is 0.834m
[3 marks]
vi) The maximum width of a constant velocity grit channel at PWWF [6 marks]
vii) Length of grit channel [3 marks]
viii)Depth of grit storage if the storage time is 2 weeks and grit concentration of
0.01m3/1000m3. The base width of grit channel is 300mm [5 marks]

Useful formulae

4/3
Li Q w  v2 3 Qmax
v  Va hl    bb  2g
Sin Q max  1.71BH max 2 Wmax  5
H max
5
PF  1 1
P6

Grit volume
Depth of storage required in grit channel 
Grit channel base width x length

The grit volume =ADWF x storage time x grit concentration

Page 8 of 8
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