Wastewater Treatment Dedicated to Improving Water Quality Today for Tomorrows Generation
History of Wastewater Treatment
Wastewater treatment is a critical part of modern life. If past practices of dumping untreated sewage into the streets and waterways continued through today (and in many areas of the world it still does) there would be rampant outbreaks of waterborne diseases, unimaginable pollution of our waterways, and an environment that would be uninhabitable to wild life.
While ancient civilizations had created sewers to carry waste away from populated cities wastewater treatment is relatively a new concept. As scientific knowledge grew it became evident that untreated sewage that entered into waterways, that supplied drinking water, it created outbreaks of cholera, diphtheria, typhoid, and numerous other diseases.
Disinfection of water to prevent waterborne disease is considered to be one of the greatest engineering achievements.
When you stop to consider it, water affects nearly every part of life in America. So much so in fact that each person uses about 80 to 110 gallons per day. Imagine if every time you took a drink of water that you wondered if it would make you sick. In many parts of the world that is a very real part of life. Water quality is one of the most pressing issues in developing countries.
To view an interactive timeline for wastewater treatment click on the link below to access the Water Environment Federation’s web site.
http://www.wef.org/AboutWater/ForStudents/WastewaterTimeline/