Wastewater is water generated after the use of
freshwater,
raw water,
drinking water
Drinking water is water that is used in drink or food preparation; potable water is water that is safe to be used as drinking water. The amount of drinking water required to maintain good health varies, and depends on physical activity level, a ...
or
saline water in a variety of deliberate applications or processes.
Another definition of wastewater is "Used water from any combination of domestic, industrial, commercial or agricultural activities, surface runoff / storm water, and any
sewer inflow or sewer infiltration".
In everyday usage, wastewater is commonly a synonym for
sewage (also called
sewerage, domestic wastewater, or municipal wastewater), which is wastewater that is produced by a community of people.
As a generic term wastewater may also be used to describe water containing contaminants accumulated in other settings, such as:
*
Industrial wastewater
Industrial wastewater treatment describes the processes used for Wastewater treatment, treating wastewater that is produced by industries as an undesirable by-product. After treatment, the treated industrial wastewater (or effluent) may be reuse ...
: waterborne waste generated from a variety of industrial processes, such as manufacturing operations, mineral extraction, power generation, or water and
wastewater treatment.
**
Cooling water
Cooling tower and water discharge of a nuclear power plant
Water cooling is a method of heat removal from components and industrial equipment. Evaporative cooling using water is often more efficient than air cooling. Water is inexpensive and no ...
, released with potential thermal pollution after use to condense steam or reduce machinery temperatures by conduction or evaporation.
*
Leachate: precipitation containing pollutants dissolved while percolating through ores, raw materials, products, or solid waste.
*
Return flow: the flow of water carrying suspended soil, pesticide residues, or dissolved minerals and nutrients from irrigated
cropland
Agricultural land is typically land ''devoted to'' agriculture, the systematic and controlled use of other forms of lifeparticularly the rearing of livestock and production of cropsto produce food for humans. It is generally synonymous with bot ...
.
*
Surface runoff: the flow of water occurring on the ground surface when excess
rainwater
Rain is water droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor and then fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Earth. It provides water fo ...
,
stormwater,
meltwater, or other sources, can no longer sufficiently rapidly infiltrate in the
soil
Soil, also commonly referred to as earth or dirt
Dirt is an unclean matter, especially when in contact with a person's clothes, skin, or possessions. In such cases, they are said to become dirty.
Common types of dirt include:
* Debri ...
.
**
Urban runoff
Urban runoff is surface runoff of rainwater, landscape irrigation, and car washing created by urbanization. Impervious surfaces (roads, parking lots and sidewalks) are constructed during land development. During rain , storms and other precip ...
, including water used for outdoor cleaning activity and landscape irrigation in densely populated areas created by
urbanization
Urbanization (or urbanisation) refers to the population shift from rural to urban areas, the corresponding decrease in the proportion of people living in rural areas, and the ways in which societies adapt to this change. It is predominantly t ...
.
*
Agricultural wastewater
Agricultural wastewater treatment is a farm management agenda for controlling pollution from confined animal operations and from surface runoff that may be contaminated by chemicals in fertilizer, pesticides, animal slurry, crop residues or i ...
:
animal husbandry wastewater generated from
confined animal operations.
References
{{SIA