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Environment & Climate vocabulary · Pollution and Environmental Quality

Wastewater treatment

Meaning in environment & climate, with examples

/ˈweɪstˌwɔːtər ˈtriːtmənt/nounCore term

In environment & climate, wastewater treatment means: The process of removing pollutants from used water from homes, businesses and industry so that it can be safely released into rivers or the sea, or reused.

In Turkish: atık su arıtımı, atık su arıtma

How it is used

Used by municipalities, engineers and permit authorities. A wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) has primary, secondary (biological) and sometimes tertiary or advanced treatment. Common phrases: treated effluent, sewage sludge, discharge standards. British English also says 'sewage treatment works'.

Example sentences

  1. The factory built its own wastewater treatment plant to meet the new discharge limits.

  2. Advanced wastewater treatment removes nitrogen and phosphorus before the water reaches the sea.

Common collocations

  • wastewater treatment plant
  • treated wastewater
  • biological treatment
  • sewage sludge
  • discharge standards
  • water pollutionContamination of rivers, lakes, seas or groundwater by substances such as sewage, industrial chemicals, fertilizers, oil or plastics that harm people and aquatic life.
  • eutrophicationA process in which too many nutrients, mainly nitrogen and phosphorus from fertilizers and sewage, enter a lake or sea, so algae grow rapidly and their decay uses up the oxygen in the water.
  • environmental permitAn official authorization that allows a facility to carry out activities that could affect the environment, such as emissions to air or discharges to water, under set conditions.
  • environmental monitoringThe regular measurement and recording of environmental conditions, such as air and water quality, noise or wildlife, to check compliance and detect changes over time.

More terms: Pollution and Environmental Quality

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