Wastewater treatment is the process of removing contaminants and other harmful items from wastewater or sewage that is generated by domestic, commercial and industrial users. Thereby, allowing it to be returned to the environment with minimal impact to wildlife, the general public and the receiving stream that it flows into.
Water that is used by homes, industries and businesses is called sewage or wastewater. Used water includes substances such as human waste, food scraps, oils, soaps and chemicals. It gets collected in the sanitary sewers and travels through a piping network called the collection system that eventually makes its way to the Wastewater Treatment Plant (WTP). Once received at the treatment plant it is known as influent. The influent then goes through numerous processes at the plant to remove the contaminants. The goal of wastewater treatment is to remove organic materials, suspended solids, nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) and pathogenic organisms which can harm human health and the environment. Water that leaves the wastewater plant is known as effluent.
Spotsylvania County’s Wastewater Treatment Plants utilize mechanical and biological processes coupled with state of the art technology to provide a safe effluent that protects the environment, reduces pollution and safeguards the waters of Virginia.
The Virginia Trekkers visited one of our wastewater treatment plants and created a video that explains the treatment process. View the video here: Massaponax Wastewater Treatment Plant.