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98-467: The canal was in part built as a sewage treatment scheme. Prior to its opening in 1900, sewage from the city of Chicago was dumped into the Chicago River and flowed into Lake Michigan. The city's drinking water supply was (and remains) located offshore, and there were fears that the sewage could reach the intake and cause serious disease outbreaks. Since the sewer systems were already flowing into

196-559: A concentration), 40–60 g/person/d for BOD (250–400 mg/L), 80–120 g/person/d for COD (450–800 mg/L), 6–10 g/person/d for total nitrogen (35–60 mg/L), 3.5–6 g/person/d for ammonia-N (20–35 mg/L) and 0.7–2.5 g/person/d for total phosphorus (4–15 mg/L). Sewerage (or sewage system) is the infrastructure that conveys sewage or surface runoff ( stormwater , meltwater , rainwater ) using sewers. It encompasses components such as receiving drains , manholes , pumping stations , storm overflows, and screening chambers of

294-611: A limited amount of stormwater directly into the river. If intercepting sewers and the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD) water reclamation plants reach capacity during heavy rain, the local sewer continues to drain, or “overflow,” to a waterway, thus causing concern for pollution. However, the MWRD’s Tunnel and Reservoir Plan (TARP) has worked to decrease the combined sewage overflow (CSOs) and nearly eliminated them in

392-525: A low cost treatment option with practically no energy requirements but they require a lot of land. Due to their technical simplicity, most of the savings (compared with high tech systems) are in terms of operation and maintenance costs. Examples for systems that can provide full or partial treatment for toilet wastewater only: Examples for more high-tech, intensive or mechanized, often relatively expensive sewage treatment systems are listed below. Some of them are energy intensive as well. Many of them provide

490-413: A manually cleaned screen may be used. The raking action of a mechanical bar screen is typically paced according to the accumulation on the bar screens and/or flow rate. The solids are collected and later disposed in a landfill, or incinerated. Bar screens or mesh screens of varying sizes may be used to optimize solids removal. If gross solids are not removed, they become entrained in pipes and moving parts of

588-694: A network of pipes and pump stations (called sewerage ) which convey the sewage to a treatment plant. For cities that have a combined sewer , the sewers will also carry urban runoff (stormwater) to the sewage treatment plant. Sewage treatment often involves two main stages, called primary and secondary treatment , while advanced treatment also incorporates a tertiary treatment stage with polishing processes and nutrient removal. Secondary treatment can reduce organic matter (measured as biological oxygen demand ) from sewage,  using aerobic or anaerobic biological processes. A so-called quarternary treatment step (sometimes referred to as advanced treatment) can also be added for

686-814: A network of pipes and pump stations to a municipal treatment plant. This is called a centralized system (see also sewerage and pipes and infrastructure ). A large number of sewage treatment technologies have been developed, mostly using biological treatment processes (see list of wastewater treatment technologies ). Very broadly, they can be grouped into high tech (high cost) versus low tech (low cost) options, although some technologies might fall into either category. Other grouping classifications are intensive or mechanized systems (more compact, and frequently employing high tech options) versus extensive or natural or nature-based systems (usually using natural treatment processes and occupying larger areas) systems. This classification may be sometimes oversimplified, because

784-536: A panic that a future similar storm would cause a huge epidemic in Chicago. The only reason for the storm not causing such a catastrophic event was that the weather was cooler than normal. The Sanitary District of Chicago (now The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District ) was created by the Illinois legislature in 1889 in response to this close call. In addition, the canal was built to supplement and ultimately replace

882-754: A sludge which can be settled and separated. After separation, a liquid remains that is almost free of solids, and with a greatly reduced concentration of pollutants. Secondary treatment can reduce organic matter (measured as biological oxygen demand) from sewage,  using aerobic or anaerobic processes. The organisms involved in these processes are sensitive to the presence of toxic materials, although these are not expected to be present at high concentrations in typical municipal sewage. Advanced sewage treatment generally involves three main stages, called primary, secondary and tertiary treatment but may also include intermediate stages and final polishing processes. The purpose of tertiary treatment (also called advanced treatment )

980-449: A small mussel harvest to provide shells to seed pearl oysters overseas. It is commercially fished downstream of the Rt. 89 bridge at Spring Valley . However, an infestation of invasive Asian Carp has crowded out many game fish in the river. The Illinois River is still an important sports fishing waterway with a good sauger fishery. The Illinois forms part of a modern waterway that connects

1078-431: A suitable sewage treatment process, decision makers need to take into account technical and economical criteria. Therefore, each analysis is site-specific. A life cycle assessment (LCA) can be used, and criteria or weightings are attributed to the various aspects. This makes the final decision subjective to some extent. A range of publications exist to help with technology selection. In industrialized countries ,

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1176-426: A treatment plant may involve a combination of processes, and the interpretation of the concepts of high tech and low tech, intensive and extensive, mechanized and natural processes may vary from place to place. Examples for more low-tech, often less expensive sewage treatment systems are shown below. They often use little or no energy. Some of these systems do not provide a high level of treatment, or only treat part of

1274-544: A very high level of treatment. For example, broadly speaking, the activated sludge process achieves a high effluent quality but is relatively expensive and energy intensive. There are other process options which may be classified as disposal options, although they can also be understood as basic treatment options. These include: Application of sludge , irrigation , soak pit , leach field , fish pond , floating plant pond, water disposal/ groundwater recharge , surface disposal and storage. The application of sewage to land

1372-590: A year, and impacts the economies of all Great Lakes states and Canada. On January 19, 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the request for a preliminary injunction closing the canal. In August 2011, the United States Court of Appeals also rejected the preliminary injunction. 41°42′18″N 87°56′02″W  /  41.70500°N 87.93389°W  / 41.70500; -87.93389 Sewage treatment Sewage treatment (or domestic wastewater treatment , municipal wastewater treatment )

1470-467: Is a parameter used in the design of sewage treatment plants. This concept is known as population equivalent (PE). The base value used for PE can vary from one country to another. Commonly used definitions used worldwide are: 1 PE equates to 60 gram of BOD per person per day, and it also equals 200 liters of sewage per day. This concept is also used as a comparison parameter to express the strength of industrial wastewater compared to sewage. When choosing

1568-573: Is a type of wastewater treatment which aims to remove contaminants from sewage to produce an effluent that is suitable to discharge to the surrounding environment or an intended reuse application, thereby preventing water pollution from raw sewage discharges. Sewage contains wastewater from households and businesses and possibly pre-treated industrial wastewater . There are a high number of sewage treatment processes to choose from. These can range from decentralized systems (including on-site treatment systems) to large centralized systems involving

1666-509: Is achieved by removing contaminants from the sewage. It is a form of waste management . With regards to biological treatment of sewage, the treatment objectives can include various degrees of the following: to transform or remove organic matter, nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus), pathogenic organisms, and specific trace organic constituents (micropollutants). Some types of sewage treatment produce sewage sludge which can be treated before safe disposal or reuse. Under certain circumstances,

1764-679: Is because the main important factors to be considered when evaluating and selecting sewage treatment processes are numerous. They include: process applicability, applicable flow, acceptable flow variation, influent characteristics, inhibiting or refractory compounds, climatic aspects, process kinetics and reactor hydraulics , performance, treatment residuals, sludge processing, environmental constraints, requirements for chemical products, energy and other resources; requirements for personnel, operating and maintenance; ancillary processes, reliability, complexity, compatibility, area availability. With regards to environmental impacts of sewage treatment plants

1862-405: Is both: a type of treatment and a type of final disposal. It leads to groundwater recharge and/or to evapotranspiration. Land application include slow-rate systems, rapid infiltration, subsurface infiltration, overland flow. It is done by flooding, furrows, sprinkler and dripping. It is a treatment/disposal system that requires a large amount of land per person. The per person organic matter load

1960-620: Is designed to work by taking water from Lake Michigan and discharging it into the Mississippi River watershed. At the time of construction, a specific amount of water diversion was authorized by the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and approved by the Secretary of War , under provisions of various Rivers and Harbors Acts ; over the years however, this limit was not honored or well regulated. While

2058-675: Is formed by the confluence of the Kankakee River and the Des Plaines River in eastern Grundy County , approximately 10 miles (16 km) southwest of Joliet . Its other major tributaries include the Fox, Vermilion, Macoupin, Mackinaw, Spoon, Sangamon, and La Moine. This river flows west across northern Illinois, passing Morris and Ottawa , where it is joined by the Mazon River and Fox River respectively. At LaSalle ,

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2156-491: Is often encouraged. Disinfection of treated sewage aims to kill pathogens (disease-causing microorganisms) prior to disposal. It is increasingly effective after more elements of the foregoing treatment sequence have been completed. The purpose of disinfection in the treatment of sewage is to substantially reduce the number of pathogens in the water to be discharged back into the environment or to be reused. The target level of reduction of biological contaminants like pathogens

2254-697: Is often regulated by the presiding governmental authority. The effectiveness of disinfection depends on the quality of the water being treated (e.g. turbidity , pH, etc.), the type of disinfection being used, the disinfectant dosage (concentration and time), and other environmental variables. Water with high turbidity will be treated less successfully, since solid matter can shield organisms, especially from ultraviolet light or if contact times are low. Generally, short contact times, low doses and high flows all militate against effective disinfection. Common methods of disinfection include ozone , chlorine , ultraviolet light , or sodium hypochlorite . Monochloramine , which

2352-444: Is part of the field of sanitation . Sanitation also includes the management of human waste and solid waste as well as stormwater (drainage) management. The term sewage treatment plant is often used interchangeably with the term wastewater treatment plant . The term sewage treatment plant (STP) (or sewage treatment works ) is nowadays often replaced with the term wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). Strictly speaking,

2450-414: Is sometimes defined as anything more than primary and secondary treatment in order to allow discharge into a highly sensitive or fragile ecosystem such as estuaries , low-flow rivers or coral reefs . Treated water is sometimes disinfected chemically or physically (for example, by lagoons and microfiltration ) prior to discharge into a stream , river , bay , lagoon or wetland , or it can be used for

2548-653: Is south of Peoria and Pekin and northwest of Lincoln and Springfield. Near the confluence of the Illinois with the La Moine River , it turns south, flowing roughly parallel to the Mississippi across western Illinois. Macoupin Creek joins the Illinois on the border between Greene and Jersey counties, approximately 15 miles (24 km) upstream from the confluence with the Mississippi River . For

2646-713: Is then joined by the Mackinaw River , and then passes through the Chautauqua National Wildlife Refuge . Across from Havana , the Illinois is joined by the Spoon River coming from Fulton County , and across from Browning , it is joined by the Sangamon River , which passes through the state capital, Springfield, Illinois . The La Moine River flows into it approximately five miles (8 km) southwest of Beardstown , which

2744-570: Is to provide a final treatment stage to further improve the effluent quality before it is discharged to the receiving water body or reused. More than one tertiary treatment process may be used at any treatment plant. If disinfection is practiced, it is always the final process. It is also called effluent polishing . Tertiary treatment may include biological nutrient removal (alternatively, this can be classified as secondary treatment), disinfection and removal of micropollutants, such as environmental persistent pharmaceutical pollutants . Tertiary treatment

2842-446: Is used for drinking water, is not used in the treatment of sewage because of its persistence. Illinois River The Illinois River ( Miami-Illinois : Inoka Siipiiwi ) is a principal tributary of the Mississippi River at approximately 273 miles (439 km) in length. Located in the U.S. state of Illinois , the river has a drainage basin of 28,756.6 square miles (74,479 km ). The Illinois River begins with

2940-757: Is used in the summer and early fall by tourists in pleasure boats cruising the Great Loop . The Illinois River is an important part of the Great Loop, the circumnavigation of Eastern North America by water. The City of Peoria is developing a long-term plan to reduce combined sewer overflows to the Illinois River, as required by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency . During dry weather, sewage flows safely through

3038-872: The Calumet-Saganashkee Channel in 1922. Construction of the Ship and Sanitary Canal was the largest earth-moving operation that had been undertaken in North America up to that time. It was also notable for training a generation of engineers, many of whom later worked on the Panama Canal . In 1989, the Sanitary District of Chicago was renamed the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago. The Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal

Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal - Misplaced Pages Continue

3136-527: The Chicago River , which itself flowed into the lake. The city's water supply also comes from the lake, through water intake cribs located two miles (3.2 km) offshore. There were fears that sewage could infiltrate the water supply, leading to typhoid fever , cholera , and dysentery . During a tremendous storm in 1885, the rainfall washed refuse from the river far out into the lake (although reports of an 1885 cholera epidemic are untrue), spurring

3234-544: The Corps of Engineers announced a single sample of DNA from Asian carp had been found above the electric barrier constructed in the canal in an attempt to prevent carp from migrating into the Great Lakes . The silver carp , also known as the flying carp, displace native species of fish by filter feeding and removing the bottom of the food chain. It migrated through the Mississippi River system, and could make its way into

3332-754: The Des Plaines and Chicago Rivers and the Kankakee and St. Joseph rivers allowed Native Americans, Europeans, and later Americans access between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi basin . The first European presence in the area was the Jesuit mission founded in 1675 by Father Jacques Marquette on the banks of the Illinois across from Starved Rock at the Grand Village of the Illinois , near present-day Utica. The Illinois Confederation were

3430-407: The Des Plaines River basin drainage. The Illinois and Michigan Canal was cut across that divide in the 1840s. In an attempt to better drain sewage and pollution in the Chicago River, the flow of the river had already been reversed in 1871 when the Illinois and Michigan Canal was deepened enough to reverse the river's flow for one season. A plan soon emerged to again cut through the ridge and reverse

3528-564: The Great Lakes at Chicago to the Mississippi River. The waterway was originally established by the building of the Illinois and Michigan Canal that connected the Illinois River to the Chicago River . When the Sanitary District of Chicago later reversed the flow of the Chicago River, the pollution and sewage of the city of Chicago flowed down into the Illinois River. The Illinois and Michigan Canal has since been replaced by

3626-828: The Great Lakes , through the man-made canal. Carp were introduced to the U.S. with the blessing of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the 1970s to help remove algae from catfish farms in Arkansas. They escaped the farms. On December 2, 2009, the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal closed, as the EPA and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) began applying a fish poison, rotenone , in an effort to kill Asian carp north of Lockport. Although no Asian carp were found in

3724-688: The Illinois Waterway , including the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal . River traffic and flood control is managed by eight locks and dams operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers . As of 2011, all locks and dams on this waterway are closed to visitors for security reasons, except the Starved Rock Visitor Center, which offers an excellent interpretation of the entire system. The waterway is heavily used by barges transporting bulk goods such as grain and oil. It

3822-606: The Panama Canal . The canal is operated by the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago . In 1999, the system was named a Civil Engineering Monument of the Millennium by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). The Canal was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 20, 2011. Early Chicago sewage systems discharged directly into Lake Michigan or into

3920-511: The combined sewer or sanitary sewer . Sewerage ends at the entry to a sewage treatment plant or at the point of discharge into the environment . It is the system of pipes, chambers, manholes or inspection chamber, etc. that conveys the sewage or storm water. Sewage can be treated close to where the sewage is created, which may be called a decentralized system or even an on-site system ( on-site sewage facility , septic tanks , etc.). Alternatively, sewage can be collected and transported by

4018-665: The irrigation of a golf course, greenway or park. If it is sufficiently clean, it can also be used for groundwater recharge or agricultural purposes. Sand filtration removes much of the residual suspended matter. Filtration over activated carbon , also called carbon adsorption, removes residual toxins . Micro filtration or synthetic membranes are used in membrane bioreactors and can also remove pathogens. Settlement and further biological improvement of treated sewage may be achieved through storage in large human-made ponds or lagoons. These lagoons are highly aerobic, and colonization by native macrophytes , especially reeds,

Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal - Misplaced Pages Continue

4116-487: The 17th and 18th centuries. After the construction of the Illinois and Michigan Canal and the Hennepin Canal in the 19th century, the role of the river as link between Lake Michigan and the Mississippi was extended into the era of modern industrial shipping. The Illinois now forms the basis for the Illinois Waterway , extending the river's capabilities for navigation and commercial shipping. The Illinois River

4214-574: The Calumet Area River System. Since the tunnels became operational in 2006, CSOs have been reduced from an average of 100 days per year to 50. Since Thornton Reservoir came online in 2015, CSOs have been nearly eliminated. TARP captures and stores combined stormwater and sewage that would otherwise overflow from sewers into waterways in rainy weather. This stored water is pumped from TARP to water reclamation plants to be cleaned before being released to waterways. On November 20, 2009,

4312-560: The Illinois River is joined by the Vermilion River , and then it flows west past Peru and Spring Valley . In southeastern Bureau County it turns south at an area known as the "Great Bend", flowing southwest across western Illinois, past Lacon , Henry and downtown Peoria , the chief city on the river. South of Peoria, the Illinois River goes by East Peoria and Creve Coeur and then Pekin in Tazewell County . It

4410-561: The Illinois River was shaped in a matter of days by the Kankakee Torrent . During the melting of the Wisconsin Glacier about 10,000 years ago, a lake formed in present-day Indiana, comparable to one of the modern Great Lakes . The lake formed behind the terminal moraine of a substage of that glacier. Melting ice to the north eventually raised the level of the lake so that it overflowed the moraine. The dam burst , and

4508-595: The Illinois River with a viewing area of the working lock in a site frequented by bald eagles. From 1905 to 1915, more freshwater fish were harvested from the Illinois River than from any other river in the United States except for the Columbia River . The Illinois River was once a major source of mussels for the shell button industry. Overfishing , habitat loss from heavy siltation , and water pollution have eliminated most commercial fishing except for

4606-510: The Mississippi. South of Hennepin , the Illinois River follows the ancient channel of the Mississippi River. The Illinoian Stage , about 300,000 to 132,000 years ago, blocked the Mississippi near Rock Island , diverting it into its present channel. After the glacier melted, the Illinois River flowed into the ancient channel. The Hennepin Canal roughly follows the ancient channel of the Mississippi upstream of Rock Island. The modern channel of

4704-646: The River. The river's trade flowed downstream to be dominated by St. Louis . After the I&;M Canal was built, a string of cities, such as LaSalle, Peru, and Ottawa grew along the river, extending Chicago 's influence into the Mississippi Valley. During the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the residents of the river towns were deeply involved in harvesting the river's fish, waterfowl, mussels , and ice . They were economically and culturally dependent on

4802-429: The activated sludge process has a high energy consumption because it includes an aeration step. Some sewage treatment plants produce biogas from their sewage sludge treatment process by using a process called anaerobic digestion . This process can produce enough energy to meet most of the energy needs of the sewage treatment plant itself. For activated sludge treatment plants in the United States, around 30 percent of

4900-422: The annual operating costs is usually required for energy. Most of this electricity is used for aeration, pumping systems and equipment for the dewatering and drying of sewage sludge . Advanced sewage treatment plants, e.g. for nutrient removal, require more energy than plants that only achieve primary or secondary treatment. Small rural plants using trickling filters may operate with no net energy requirements,

4998-399: The average flows. Such basins can improve the performance of the biological treatment processes and the secondary clarifiers. Disadvantages include the basins' capital cost and space requirements. Basins can also provide a place to temporarily hold, dilute and distribute batch discharges of toxic or high-strength wastewater which might otherwise inhibit biological secondary treatment (such

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5096-472: The bottom while oil, grease and lighter solids float to the surface and are skimmed off. These basins are called primary sedimentation tanks or primary clarifiers and typically have a hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 1.5 to 2.5 hours. The settled and floating materials are removed and the remaining liquid may be discharged or subjected to secondary treatment. Primary settling tanks are usually equipped with mechanically driven scrapers that continually drive

5194-443: The canal declined by the early 1900s, it was eventually replaced by the Illinois Waterway in 1933, which is still in use today. The Peoria Riverfront Museum contains a gallery, "Illinois River Encounter," that offers an interpretation of the river through an aquarium tank, and displays of the river's geology, ecology, social history, engineering, and commercial use. The Starved Rock Lock and Dam Visitor Center features exhibits on

5292-670: The canal to Joliet , as the SDC wanted to replace the previously built Illinois and Michigan Canal with the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal. The rate of flow is controlled by the Lockport Powerhouse , sluice gates at Chicago Harbor and at the O'Brien Lock in the Calumet River , and also by pumps at Wilmette Harbor . Two more canals were later built to add to the system: the North Shore Channel in 1910, and

5390-575: The city's sewers to the Greater Peoria Sanitation District wastewater treatment plant . However, about 28 times a year, melting snow or rainwater can overwhelm the sewers, causing untreated sewage to overflow into the Illinois River. Peoria was required to examine the sewer overflows and prepare a long-term control plan to meet Clean Water Act requirements and protect the Illinois River. The city had to submit its plan by December 2008 to U.S. EPA and Illinois EPA. The issue

5488-416: The collected sludge towards a hopper in the base of the tank where it is pumped to sludge treatment facilities. Sewage treatment plants that are connected to a combined sewer system sometimes have a bypass arrangement after the primary treatment unit. This means that during very heavy rainfall events, the secondary and tertiary treatment systems can be bypassed to protect them from hydraulic overloading, and

5586-538: The confluence of the Des Plaines and Kankakee rivers in the Chicago metropolitan area , and it generally flows to the southwest across Illinois, until it empties into the Mississippi near Grafton, Illinois . Its drainage basin extends into southeastern Wisconsin , northwestern Indiana , and a very small area of southwestern Michigan in addition to central Illinois. Along its shores are several river ports, including Peoria, Illinois . Historic and recreation areas on

5684-691: The district. The litigation was eventually decided by the Supreme Court in Sanitary District of Chicago v. United States in 1925, and again in Wisconsin v. Illinois in 1929. In 1930, management of the canal was turned over to the United States Army Corps of Engineers. The Corps of Engineers reduced the flow of water from Lake Michigan into the canal, but kept it open for navigation purposes. These decisions prompted

5782-439: The entire volume of the lake was released in a very short time, perhaps a few days. Because of the manner of its formation, the Illinois River runs through a deep canyon with many rock formations. It has an "underutilized channel", one far larger than would be needed to contain any conceivable flow of the modern river. The Illinois River valley has long been an important transportation route for civilizations. The portages between

5880-597: The factories themselves to reduce the pollutant load , before discharge to the sewer. The pretreatment has the following two main aims: Firstly, to prevent toxic or inhibitory compounds entering the biological stage of the sewage treatment plant and reduce its efficiency. And secondly to avoid toxic compounds from accumulating in the produced sewage sludge which would reduce its beneficial reuse options. Some industrial wastewater may contain pollutants which cannot be removed by sewage treatment plants. Also, variable flow of industrial waste associated with production cycles may upset

5978-437: The fat floating on the surface. Air blowers in the base of the tank may also be used to help recover the fat as a froth. Many plants, however, use primary clarifiers with mechanical surface skimmers for fat and grease removal. Primary treatment is the "removal of a portion of the suspended solids and organic matter from the sewage". It consists of allowing sewage to pass slowly through a basin where heavy solids can settle to

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6076-423: The finer grit passes through the grit removal flows under normal conditions. During periods of high flow deposited grit is resuspended and the quantity of grit reaching the treatment plant increases substantially. Equalization basins can be used to achieve flow equalization. This is especially useful for combined sewer systems which produce peak dry-weather flows or peak wet-weather flows that are much higher than

6174-472: The first fort in Illinois, Ft. St. Louis, at Starved Rock to facilitate the fur trade and defend the Illinois against the Iroquois . Later the fort was relocated to the present site of Creve Coeur , near Peoria. The French retained a presence in the area, with small trading posts. Prior to the construction of the Illinois & Michigan Canal , completed in 1845, Peoria was the only large settlement on

6272-645: The flow permanently carrying wastewater away from the lake, through the Des Plaines and Illinois rivers, to the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico . In 1889, the Illinois General Assembly created the Sanitary District of Chicago (SDC) to carry out the plan. After four years of turmoil during construction, Isham Randolph was appointed Chief Engineer for the newly formed Sanitary District of Chicago and resolved many issues circulating around

6370-605: The following aspects are included in the selection process: Odors, vector attraction, sludge transportation, sanitary risks, air contamination , soil and subsoil contamination, surface water pollution or groundwater contamination , devaluation of nearby areas, inconvenience to the nearby population. Odors emitted by sewage treatment are typically an indication of an anaerobic or septic condition. Early stages of processing will tend to produce foul-smelling gases, with hydrogen sulfide being most common in generating complaints. Large process plants in urban areas will often treat

6468-748: The frequency of tank cleaning caused by excessive accumulation of grit; and (3) protect moving mechanical equipment from abrasion and accompanying abnormal wear. The removal of grit is essential for equipment with closely machined metal surfaces such as comminutors, fine screens, centrifuges, heat exchangers, and high pressure diaphragm pumps. Grit chambers come in three types: horizontal grit chambers, aerated grit chambers, and vortex grit chambers. Vortex grit chambers include mechanically induced vortex, hydraulically induced vortex, and multi-tray vortex separators. Given that traditionally, grit removal systems have been designed to remove clean inorganic particles that are greater than 0.210 millimetres (0.0083 in), most of

6566-420: The homes in the U.S. Sewage treatment often involves two main stages, called primary and secondary treatment, while advanced treatment also incorporates a tertiary treatment stage with polishing processes. Different types of sewage treatment may utilize some or all of the process steps listed below. Preliminary treatment (sometimes called pretreatment) removes coarse materials that can be easily collected from

6664-526: The increased flow more rapidly flushed the untreated sewage, it also was seen as a hazard to navigation, a concern to USACE in relation to the level of the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River , from which the water was diverted. Litigation ensued from 1907, which eventually saw states downstream of the canal siding with the sanitary district and those states upstream of Lake Michigan with Canada siding against

6762-464: The last 20 miles (32 km) of its course, the Illinois is separated from the Mississippi River by only about five miles (8 km), by a peninsula of land that makes up Calhoun County . The Illinois joins the Mississippi near Grafton , approximately 25 miles (40 km) northwest of downtown St. Louis and about 20 miles (32 km) upstream from the confluence of the Missouri River and

6860-415: The latter is a broader term that can also refer to industrial wastewater treatment. The terms water recycling center or water reclamation plants are also in use as synonyms. The overall aim of treating sewage is to produce an effluent that can be discharged to the environment while causing as little water pollution as possible, or to produce an effluent that can be reused in a useful manner. This

6958-733: The lawsuit. In response to the Michigan lawsuit, on January 5, 2010, Illinois State Attorney General Lisa Madigan filed a counter-suit with the Supreme Court requesting that it reject Michigan's claims. Siding with the State of Illinois, both the Illinois Chamber of Commerce and the American Waterways Operators have filed affidavits, arguing that closing the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal would upset

7056-654: The length of the canal project on June 2, between Lemont and Romeo, conducting a "reign of terror" at worksites, "armed with clubs and revolvers", "almost crazed with liquor". On the 9th strikers clashed with replacement workers and local law enforcement, and Governor Altgeld called out the First and Second Regiments of the Illinois National Guard . Dozens were wounded and at least five killed: strikers Gregor Kilka, Jacob (or Ignatz) Ast, Thomas Moorski, Mike Berger, and 17-year-old bystander John Kluga. The strike

7154-483: The main criteria for selection are: desired effluent quality, expected construction and operating costs, availability of land, energy requirements and sustainability aspects. In developing countries and in rural areas with low population densities, sewage is often treated by various on-site sanitation systems and not conveyed in sewers. These systems include septic tanks connected to drain fields , on-site sewage systems (OSS), vermifilter systems and many more. On

7252-421: The mixture of sewage and storm-water receives primary treatment only. Primary sedimentation tanks remove about 50–70% of the suspended solids, and 25–40% of the biological oxygen demand (BOD). The main processes involved in secondary sewage treatment are designed to remove as much of the solid material as possible. They use biological processes to digest and remove the remaining soluble material, especially

7350-400: The most important parameters in process selection are typically efficiency, reliability, and space requirements. In developing countries , they might be different and the focus might be more on construction and operating costs as well as process simplicity. Choosing the most suitable treatment process is complicated and requires expert inputs, often in the form of feasibility studies . This

7448-412: The movement of millions of tons of vital shipments of iron ore , coal , grain and other cargo, totaling more than $ 1.5 billion a year, and contribute to the loss of hundreds, perhaps thousands of jobs. However, Michigan along with several other Great Lakes states argue that the sport and commercial fishery and tourism associated with the fishery of the entire Great Lakes region is estimated at $ 7 billion

7546-453: The new canal, the entire route was built to allow much larger ships to navigate it. It is 202 feet (62 m) wide and 24 feet (7.3 m) deep, over three times the size of the I&M. The I&M became a secondary route with the new canal's opening and was shut down entirely with the creation of the Illinois Waterway network in 1933. The building of the Chicago canal served as intensive and practical training for engineers who later built

7644-520: The odors with carbon reactors, a contact media with bio-slimes, small doses of chlorine , or circulating fluids to biologically capture and metabolize the noxious gases. Other methods of odor control exist, including addition of iron salts, hydrogen peroxide , calcium nitrate , etc. to manage hydrogen sulfide levels. The energy requirements vary with type of treatment process as well as sewage strength. For example, constructed wetlands and stabilization ponds have low energy requirements. In comparison,

7742-487: The older and smaller Illinois and Michigan Canal (built 1848) as a conduit to the Mississippi River system. In 1871, the old canal had been deepened in an attempt to reverse the river and improve shipping but the reversal of the river only lasted one season. The I&M canal was also badly polluted as a result of unrestricted dumping from city sewers and industries, such as the Union Stock Yards . By 1887, it

7840-400: The organic fraction. This can be done with either suspended-growth or biofilm processes. The microorganisms that feed on the organic matter present in the sewage grow and multiply, constituting the biological solids, or biomass. These grow and group together in the form of flocs or biofilms and, in some specific processes, as granules. The biological floc or biofilm and remaining fine solids form

7938-512: The other hand, advanced and relatively expensive sewage treatment plants may include tertiary treatment with disinfection and possibly even a fourth treatment stage to remove micropollutants. At the global level, an estimated 52% of sewage is treated. However, sewage treatment rates are highly unequal for different countries around the world. For example, while high-income countries treat approximately 74% of their sewage, developing countries treat an average of just 4.2%. The treatment of sewage

8036-436: The population dynamics of biological treatment units. Urban residents in many parts of the world rely on on-site sanitation systems without sewers, such as septic tanks and pit latrines , and fecal sludge management in these cities is an enormous challenge. For sewage treatment the use of septic tanks and other on-site sewage facilities (OSSF) is widespread in some rural areas, for example serving up to 20 percent of

8134-431: The primary inhabitants of the valley. Marquette wrote of the river, "We have seen nothing like this river that we enter, as regards its fertility of soil, its prairies and woods; its cattle, elk, deer, wildcats, bustards, swans, ducks, parroquets, and even beaver. There are many small lakes and rivers. That on which we sailed is wide, deep, and still, for 65 leagues." In 1680, René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle built

8232-578: The project. While the canal was being built, permanent reversal of the Chicago River was attained in 1892, when the Army Corps of Engineers further deepened the Illinois and Michigan Canal. One of the issues for Randolph to resolve was a strike of about 2000 union workers, centered in Lemont and Joliet. On June 1, 1893, quarrymen went out to protest a wage cut, an action that also drew in 1200 canal workers. Reports describe 400 quarrymen marching along

8330-429: The raw sewage before they damage or clog the pumps and sewage lines of primary treatment clarifiers . The influent in sewage water passes through a bar screen to remove all large objects like cans, rags, sticks, plastic packets, etc. carried in the sewage stream. This is most commonly done with an automated mechanically raked bar screen in modern plants serving large populations, while in smaller or less modern plants,

8428-460: The removal of organic micropollutants, such as pharmaceuticals. This has been implemented in full-scale for example in Sweden. A large number of sewage treatment technologies have been developed, mostly using biological treatment processes. Design engineers and decision makers need to take into account technical and economical criteria of each alternative when choosing a suitable technology. Often,

8526-534: The river include Starved Rock , and the internationally important wetlands of the Emiquon Complex and Dixon Waterfowl Refuge . The river was important among Native Americans and early French traders as the principal water route connecting the Great Lakes with the Mississippi. The French colonial settlements along these rivers formed the heart of the area known as the Illinois Country in

8624-406: The river, building up industries such as tourism related to duck hunting and sport fishing, commercial fishing, musseling for the button factories, and ice cutting for early attempts at refrigeration for domestic and commercial use. With the construction of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal in the late 19th century, Chicago's sewage was pushed down the river rather than into Lake Michigan. As

8722-400: The river, the decision was made to reverse the flow of the river, thereby sending all the sewage inland where it could be diluted before emptying it into the Des Plaines. Another goal of the construction was to replace the shallow and narrow Illinois and Michigan Canal (I&M), which had originally connected Lake Michigan with the Mississippi starting in 1848. As part of the construction of

8820-494: The sanitary district to accelerate their treatment of raw sewage. Today, diversions from the Great Lakes system are regulated by an international treaty with Canada, through the International Joint Commission , and by governors of the Great Lakes states. Most local sewers in the Chicago area were built over 100 years ago before wastewater treatment existed. They were designed to drain sanitary flow and

8918-475: The sewage (for example only the toilet wastewater ), or they only provide pre-treatment, like septic tanks. On the other hand, some systems are capable of providing a good performance, satisfactory for several applications. Many of these systems are based on natural treatment processes, requiring large areas, while others are more compact. In most cases, they are used in rural areas or in small to medium-sized communities. For example, waste stabilization ponds are

9016-650: The treated sewage sludge might be termed biosolids and can be used as a fertilizer . Typical values for physical–chemical characteristics of raw sewage in developing countries have been published as follows: 180 g/person/d for total solids (or 1100 mg/L when expressed as a concentration), 50 g/person/d for BOD (300 mg/L), 100 g/person/d for COD (600 mg/L), 8 g/person/d for total nitrogen (45 mg/L), 4.5 g/person/d for ammonia-N (25 mg/L) and 1.0 g/person/d for total phosphorus (7 mg/L). The typical ranges for these values are: 120–220 g/person/d for total solids (or 700–1350 mg/L when expressed as

9114-486: The treatment plant, and can cause substantial damage and inefficiency in the process. Grit consists of sand , gravel , rocks, and other heavy materials. Preliminary treatment may include a sand or grit removal channel or chamber, where the velocity of the incoming sewage is reduced to allow the settlement of grit. Grit removal is necessary to (1) reduce formation of deposits in primary sedimentation tanks, aeration tanks, anaerobic digesters, pipes, channels, etc. (2) reduce

9212-465: The two months of commercial and electrofishing, the massive fish kill did yield a single carp. On December 21, 2009, Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox filed a lawsuit with the Supreme Court seeking the immediate closure of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal to keep Asian carp out of Lake Michigan . The state of Illinois and the Corps of Engineers, which constructed the Canal, are co-defendants in

9310-450: The whole process being driven by gravitational flow, including tipping bucket flow distribution and the desludging of settlement tanks to drying beds. This is usually only practical in hilly terrain and in areas where the treatment plant is relatively remote from housing because of the difficulty in managing odors. In highly regulated developed countries, industrial wastewater usually receives at least pretreatment if not full treatment at

9408-557: Was decided to reverse the flow of the Chicago River through civil engineering . Engineer Isham Randolph noted that a ridge about 12 miles (19 km) from the lakeshore divided the Mississippi River drainage system from the Great Lakes drainage system. This low divide had been known since pre-Columbian time by the Native Americans, who used it as the Chicago Portage to cross from the Chicago River drainage to

9506-568: Was settled by the 15th. The new Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, linking the south branch of the Chicago River to the Des Plaines River at Lockport , and in advance of an application by the Missouri Attorney General for an injunction against the opening, opened on January 2, 1900. However, it was not until January 17 that the complete flow of the water was released. Further construction from 1903 to 1907 extended

9604-409: Was wastewater from portable toilets or fecal sludge that is brought to the sewage treatment plant in vacuum trucks ). Flow equalization basins require variable discharge control, typically include provisions for bypass and cleaning, and may also include aerators and odor control. In some larger plants, fat and grease are removed by passing the sewage through a small tank where skimmers collect

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