Design of waste stabilisation ponds for municipal effluent treatment in sobi cantonment, ilorin, nigeria

Abstract

 The sludge accumulation rate at the primary anaerobic pond is 135 m 3 per year, requiring a desludging frequency of 2.8 years.  The retention time of the anaerobic, facultative, and maturation ponds were 3.9 days, 10.7 days and 8 days respectively.  The designed WSP would highly comply with both WHO and FEPA effluent discharge standards regarding BOD and faecal coliform.The generation of wastewater or effluent is unavoidable as long as humans exist, and it could cause potential danger if not properly managed. One way to manage it is by ensuring proper treatment before discharging into rivers, streams, and creeks. This will not just protect human health but will also protect aquatic fauna and flora. Thus, this research applied scientific and engineering principles to design a waste stabilization pond (WSP) to treat municipal effluent generated in a large military community (Sobi Cantonment), which currently lacks a wastewater treatment plant. The research revealed that the WSP will comprise two anaerobic ponds, one facultative pond, and two maturation ponds, all arranged in series with the addition of two (in series) anaerobic ponds as standby, arranged in parallel with the other set of anaerobic ponds. The research further revealed that the sludge accumulation rate at the primary anaerobic pond is 135 m 3 per year, requiring a desludging frequency of 2.8 years. However, the retention time of the anaerobic, facultative, and maturation ponds were 3.9 days, 10.7 days, and 8 days, respectively. Also, the diameter of the inlet and outlet pipes was designed to be 3 inches. while the required land area (including additional space for personnel accessibility during maintenance) is approximately one hectare. Both orthographic and isometric drawings of the WSP were provided in detail. It was concluded that the designed WSP would highly comply with both WHO and FEPA effluent discharge standards regarding BOD and faecal coliform.