FAQs • What is wastewater?

What is wastewater?: Wastewater is “used” water, generated by homes, industry, schools and businesses. On the average, each person in the United States contributes 50 to 100 gallons of wastewater everyday. If you turn on your faucet and wash your hands, run the garbage disposal, take a shower, or flush the toilet, once it’s in the drainpipe, it becomes wastewater, which is also called “sewage”.

Wastewater Treatment

1. What is wastewater?: Wastewater is “used” water, generated by homes, industry, schools and businesses. On the average, each person in the United States contributes 50 to 100 gallons of wastewater everyday. If you turn on your faucet and wash your hands, run the garbage disposal, take a shower, or flush the toilet, once it’s in the drainpipe, it becomes wastewater, which is also called “sewage”.

2. What is wastewater treatment?: Wastewater treatment is the process of cleaning used water so that it can be returned safely to your environment. Wastewater treatment is the last line of defense against water pollution, protecting public health and the aquatic organisms in the receiving water.

3. How much wastewater does the Bartlett plants treat?: On the average, about 1.2 million gallons per day (that’s more than 800 gallons per minute!) are treated at the plants.

4. How do we know that the plants are run well?: The Wastewater Treatment Plant operates under a discharge permit issued by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, by authority of the US Environmental Protection Agency. This discharge permit specifies operating conditions, including strict discharge limitations on the final effluent. Operating personnel are required to be certified by the State Wastewater Operator Certification Board, at a level corresponding to the level of complexity and the design flow of the plant. The plant is also inspected annually by staff from TDEC’s Regional Environmental Assistance Office.

5. How long does it take to clean the wastewater?: On the average, a drop of wastewater will spend about 24 hours traveling through the plant while undergoing treatment.

6. What are biosolids?: Biosolids are the nutrient-rich organic material produced by treating wastewater solids. After processing and treatment, they can be beneficially recycled as a fertilizer and soil amendment.

7. Why doesn’t the city just put biosolids in the landfill?: Recycling biosolids in farms captures the nutrients and provides real benefits to crops and soils. Because the safety of this practice has been demonstrated for decades, Tennessee Dept. of Environment and Conservation encourages recycling.