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Effluent
 
 
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Effluent is an outflowing of water from a natural body of water, or from a man-made structure.

Effluent in the man-made sense is generally considered to be water pollution
Water pollution

Water pollution is the contamination of water bodies such as lakes, rivers, oceans, and groundwater caused by human activities, which can be harmful to organisms and plants that live in these water bodies....
, such as the outflow from a sewage treatment
Sewage treatment

Sewage treatment, or domestic wastewater treatment, is the process of removing contaminants from wastewater and household sewage, both runoff and domestic....
 facility or the wastewater
Wastewater

Wastewater is any water that has been adversely affected in quality by anthropogenic influence. It comprises liquid waste discharged by domestic residences, commercial properties, industry, and/or agriculture and can encompass a wide range of potential contaminants and concentrations....
 discharge from industrial facilities. An effluent sump pump
Sump pump

A sump pump is a pump used to remove water that has accumulated in a sump pit. A sump pit, commonly found in the home basement, is simply a hole to collect water....
, for instance, pumps waste from toilets installed below a main sewage line.

In the context of waste water treatment plants, effluent that has been treated is sometimes called secondary effluent, or treated effluent.






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Encyclopedia


Effluent is an outflowing of water from a natural body of water, or from a man-made structure.

Effluent in the man-made sense is generally considered to be water pollution
Water pollution

Water pollution is the contamination of water bodies such as lakes, rivers, oceans, and groundwater caused by human activities, which can be harmful to organisms and plants that live in these water bodies....
, such as the outflow from a sewage treatment
Sewage treatment

Sewage treatment, or domestic wastewater treatment, is the process of removing contaminants from wastewater and household sewage, both runoff and domestic....
 facility or the wastewater
Wastewater

Wastewater is any water that has been adversely affected in quality by anthropogenic influence. It comprises liquid waste discharged by domestic residences, commercial properties, industry, and/or agriculture and can encompass a wide range of potential contaminants and concentrations....
 discharge from industrial facilities. An effluent sump pump
Sump pump

A sump pump is a pump used to remove water that has accumulated in a sump pit. A sump pit, commonly found in the home basement, is simply a hole to collect water....
, for instance, pumps waste from toilets installed below a main sewage line.

In the context of waste water treatment plants, effluent that has been treated is sometimes called secondary effluent, or treated effluent. This cleaner effluent is then used to feed the bacteria
Bacteria

The Bacteria are a large group of unicellular microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria have a wide range of shapes, ranging from spheres to rods and spirals....
 in biofilters.

In the context of a nuclear power plant or nuclear processes such as creating plutonium
Plutonium

Plutonium is a rare transuranic radioactive chemical element. It is an actinide metal of silvery-white appearance that tarnishes when exposed to air, forming a dull coating when plutonium oxide....
 at the Hanford Site
Hanford Site

The Hanford Site is a decommissioned Nuclear technology production complex on the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington, operated by the Federal government of the United States....
, effluent refers to the cooling water that is discharged from a nuclear reactor
Nuclear reactor

A nuclear reactor is a device in which nuclear chain reactions are initiated, controlled, and sustained at a steady rate, as opposed to a nuclear bomb, in which the chain reaction occurs in a fraction of a second and is uncontrolled causing an explosion....
 that may or may not be radioactive. This water is generally not physically contaminated, but is usually warmer than the body of water it discharges into.

In Sugar Beet
Sugar beet

Sugar beet , a member of the Chenopodiaceae family, is a plant whose root contains a high concentration of sucrose. It is grown commercially for sugar production....
 processing, effluent is often settled in water tanks which allow the mud-contaminated water to settle. The mud sinks to the bottom, leaving the top section of water clear, free to be pumped back into the river or be reused in the process again.

The Mississippi River
Mississippi River

The Mississippi River is the longest river in the United States, with a length of from its source in Lake Itasca in Minnesota to its mouth in the Gulf of Mexico....
's effluent of fresh water is so massive (7,000 to 20,000 m³/sec, or 200,000 to 700,000 ft³/sec) that a plume
Plume (hydrodynamics)

In hydrodynamics, a plume is a column of one fluid moving through another. Several effects control the motion of the fluid, including momentum, buoyancy and density difference....
 of fresh water is detectable by the naked eye from outer space, even as it rounds Florida and up to the coast of Georgia.

See also

  • Combined sewer
  • Discharge Monitoring Report
    Discharge Monitoring Report

    A Discharge Monitoring Report is a United States regulatory term for a periodic water pollution report prepared by industry, municipality and other facilities discharging to surface waters....
  • Effluent guidelines
    Effluent guidelines

    Effluent guidelines are U.S. national standards for wastewater discharges to surface waters and publicly owned treatment works . The United States Environmental Protection Agency issues effluent guidelines for categories of industrial sources of water pollution under Title III of the Clean Water Act ....
     (U.S. wastewater regulations)
  • Leachate
    Leachate

    Leachate is the liquid that drains or 'leaches' from a landfill; it varies widely in composition regarding the age of the landfill and the type of waste that it contains....
  • Sanitary sewer overflow
    Sanitary sewer overflow

    Sanitary sewer overflow is a condition whereby untreated sewage is discharged into the environment prior to reaching treatment facilities thereby escaping wastewater treatment....
  • Wastewater
    Wastewater

    Wastewater is any water that has been adversely affected in quality by anthropogenic influence. It comprises liquid waste discharged by domestic residences, commercial properties, industry, and/or agriculture and can encompass a wide range of potential contaminants and concentrations....
  • Water quality
    Water quality

    Water quality is the physical, chemical and biological characteristics of water. It is most frequently used by reference to a set of standards against which compliance can be assessed....