WET 110 - Water Treatment Technologies

Credits: 3

Studies conventional water treatment processes. Includes preliminary treatment, coagulation and flocculation, sedimentation and clarification, filtration, and disinfection. Includes tours of municipal water treatment facilities and related field discussions. Credit may be earned in WWT 110 or WET 110, but not in both.

Prerequisite(s): READING LEVEL 2 and WRITING LEVEL 2 and MATH LEVEL 2
Corequisite(s): None
Lecture Hours: 45 Lab Hours: 0
Meets MTA Requirement: None
Pass/NoCredit: No

Outcomes and Objectives

Describe the basic components and applications of preliminary treatment devices.
1. Explain pre-oxidation, screening, pre-sedimentation, and micro-screening.
2. Describe various pre-oxidation processes such as iron and manganese removal.
Describe the mechanisms of coagulation and flocculation.
1. Identify non-settleable solids as suspended, colloidal and dissolved.
2. Explain a water particle's electrical charges including; naturally repelling and attracting forces.
3. Describe particle destabilization mechanisms including; charge neutralization and enmeshment.
4. Discuss and perform various calculations regarding chemical coagulants including; aluminum sulfate, ferric chloride and polymers.
5. Describe water characteristics affecting chemical selection including; water temperature, pH, alkalinity, turbidity, and color.
6. Describe operating factors affecting floc development including; flash mixing, flocculation mixing and flocculation detention time.
7. Summarize federal regulations including; the Intrerim Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule, the Information Collection Rule, and the disinfectants/Disinfection-Byproducts Rule.
Describe the sedimentation process, also called clarification.
1. Describe various basin (settling) types including; rectilinear flow, center feed/radial flow, peripheral feed/radial flow, peripheral feed/spiral flow, and square/radial flow.
2. Describe sedimentation enhancement devices including; tube settlers and plate settlers.
3. Describe other clarification processes such as: solids-contact clarifiers, dissolved air flotation units, and adsorption clarifiers.
4. Perform sludge production calculations.
Describe the suspended solids removal process of filtration.
1. Define various approaches of filtration such as: slow sand filtration, rapid sand filtration, dual media sand/anthracite filtration, mixed media (garnet) filtration, deep-bed granular activated carbon (GAC) filtration, and diatomaceous earth filtration.
2. Describe the components of a basic filtration system including; underdrain, filter box, wash troughs, piping and valving, controls, media, and surface wash.
3. Perform calculations regarding effective size, uniformity coefficient, bed expansion and mixing
Describe various processes associated with inactivating pathogenic organisms.
1. Describe various methods of disinfection including; heat treatment, radiation treatment and chemical treatment.
2. Describe various advantages and disadvantages of water treatment disinfectant chemicals including; chlorine, chloramines, ozone, and chorine dioxide.
3. Illustrate chemical equations respective of mono, di, and tri chloroamine formation.
4. Diagram the breakpoint chlorination schematic.
5. Explain the Surface Water Treatment Rule and its relationship to contact time calculations.
6. Explain various forms of disinfection equipment systems.
7. Describe various disinfection byproducts including; trihalomethanes and haloacetic acids.