Evaluation of Fecal Coliform Prevalence and Physicochemical Indicators in the Effluent from a Wastewater Treatment Plant in the North-West Province, South Africa

Abstract

Compliance of the effluents from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) to the regulatory standards, which mostly entail the removal/reduction of organic waste and deactivation of the potential microbial pathogens is of great importance. The detection of indicator parameters can be used to determine the effectiveness of a WWTP and the level of compliance with the South African regulatory standards. The performance of the WWTP was assessed by biological, physical and chemical measures in wastewater final effluent. The Escherichia coli ranged from 0 and 2420 count/100 mL in the final effluent. The recorded values for the physicochemical parameters were within the following ranges: pH (7.03–8.49), electrical conductivity (81.63–126.5 mS/m), suspended solids (0.40–20.4 mg/L), ammonia (0–22.15 mg/L), Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) (1–73 mg/L), nitrate (0–16.1 mg/L), ortho-phosphate (0–8.58 mg/L) and free chlorine (0–3.21 mg/L). Furthermore, the concentration of toxic heavy metals was recorded to be between 1–10 ug/L for arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury. In conclusion, all the parameters that were evaluated in this study indicate that the studied WWTP is performing in accordance with the prescribed general limits.

Distribution and Public Health Significance of Vibrio Pathogens Recovered from Selected Treated Effluents in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa

“…However, faulty clarifiers, sludge reticulation due to aerator breakdown and stabilization ponds that are not associated with disinfection have been identified during sampling regime with high Vibrio densities. These observations were consistent with the findings of [47] that reported polluted effluents in their study.…”

“…Most South African wastewater treatment works disinfect wastewater by chlorination prior to discharge into receiving watersheds [47]. The goal is to remove pathogens from wastewater.…”

The effects of dry versus wet season on the performance of a wastewater treatment plant in North West Province, South Africa

“…The plant of interest in this study is situated in the North West Province of South Africa. The town where the plant is situated has a population of approximately 124 000 inhibitants and is an industrial and agricultural growth point (Makuwa et al, 2020). The plant therefore receives municipal domestic sewage and wastewater that is heavily influenced by household and industrial water use.…”

Modeling a Three-Stage Biological Trickling Filter Based on the A2O Process for Sewage Treatment

“…Numerical simulations and experimental research are both effective strategies for studying WWTPs. At present, experimental studies on sewage treatment are mostly done on the structural transformation and process upgrades of WWTPs [34]. For example, Cao et al [35] applied an improved four-stage segmented process to treat low C/N urban sewage, and they found that the flow distribution ratio of the four-stage A/O was 20:35:35:10.…”