Waste Water/Sewage Pumps

Waste Water/Sewage Pumps

Waste Water and Sewage Pumps are a major category in the pumping industry. Think about it... fresh water that is used every day in either the residential, commercial or industrial markets, has to go somewhere! And that's where the Waste Water department comes in.

In our discussions here, we'll talk about some of the various types an applications in the Waste Water industry and how A.R.&E. can help you with those projects. We've worked hard to make our name known in the municipal waste water departments of our local marketing area. We're proud of what we've done, and happy to have been of service to the local communities. So let's talk about the general nature of Waste Water Pumps and their use in our everyday lives.

 I'm going to turn first to one of my favorite sources... Wikipedia.com for their description of Waste Water.

"Wastewater (or waste water) is any water that has been affected by human use. Wastewater is "used water from any combination of domestic, industrial, commercial or agricultural activities, surface runoff or stormwater, and any sewer inflow or sewer infiltration". Therefore, wastewater is a byproduct of domestic, industrial, commercial or agricultural activities. The characteristics of wastewater vary depending on the source. Types of wastewater include: domestic wastewater from households, municipal wastewater from communities (also called sewage) and industrial wastewater. Wastewater can contain physical, chemical and biological pollutants.

Households may produce wastewater from "flush toilets", sinks, dishwashers, washing machines, bath tubs, and showers. Households that use "dry toilets" produce less wastewater than those that use flush toilets.

Wastewater may be conveyed in a sanitary sewer that conveys only sewage. Alternatively, wastewater can be transported in a combined sewer that conveys both stormwater runoff and sewage, and possibly also industrial wastewater. After treatment at a wastewater treatment plant, treated wastewater (also called effluent) is discharged to a receiving water body. The terms "wastewater reuse" and "water reclamation" apply if the treated waste is used for another purpose. Wastewater that is discharged to the environment without suitable treatment can cause water pollution.

In developing countries and in rural areas with low population densities, wastewater is often treated by various on-site sanitation systems and not conveyed in sewers. These systems include septic tanks connected to drain fields, on-site sewage systems (OSS), vermifilter [also called vermi-digester] systems (an aerobic bacteria treatment system) and many more."

So you can see that the definition of Waste Water is somewhat extensive and contains significant methods of handling. We'll talk about some (certainly not all) of the more common pumps used in Waste Water treatment handling and the facilities that use them.

A large majority of the pumps used in waste water processing and handling are "Centrifugal" pumps. These are the most common based on their simplicity and reasonable initial cost. In addition, centrifugal pumps, with their myriad of impeller design, can handle "solids" as well as "suspended solids", and that's important in the handling of waste water. Centrifugal pumps are used in "fresh water" processing as well as waste water systems. Primarily for the same reasons... simplicity and cost.

We'll also get into the "Grinder Pumps" that are used to breakup and grind debris so it can be passed by the pump impeller into the processing portion of the treatment systems. Within these "grinder" pumps are some very special pumps that will have their own page for discussion. And submersible pumps and systems will be a final topic. These are pumps used for specific purposes within the waste water treatment process.

So check out these Waste Water Pump topics either by way of the navigation menu at the top of the page or through the links mentioned during this general discussion. And as always, should you have specific questions that need answered directly, give us a call or send a note. We're here to help.