Wastewater Filtration Systems

Any water that is used for drinking, cleaning, sewage, farming or manufacturing is polluted or degraded as a result. Before water can be returned to the environment it must be filtered to remove harmful pollutants. Each treatment system is unique to an extent as it is dependent on the needs and available resources of the municipality or organization doing the treating. However, the goals are largely the same.

Flow

• Natural water flow and water pumps can be used to drive wastewater toward a filter. This can be done with a downflow of water although upflow is now more common as it has been found to be more effective. These systems are designed to remove solid particles from wastewater.

Granular

• Granular systems use a medium like sand or charcoal to collect solids and pollutants from wastewater. In some of these systems, termed semi-continuous, the filtration medium must be back-washed at times as the medium becomes clogged with solid wastes.

Wetlands

• Wetlands tend to act as natural water filtration systems. The slow water flow through wetlands combined with the actions of microbes, plant life and other biological systems that are present remove solids, toxins and pollutants from water before it flows into larger bodies of water. In recent years there has been great interest in the construction of artificial wetlands to help in the filtration of wastewater.