Water and Wastewater Management and Treatment Services

Water and wastewater management and treatment services are privately-owned companies or publicly owned treatment works (POTW) that serve residential, commercial, and industrial facilities and infrastructures. Services range from turnkey solutions (from design to operation), to facilities maintenance (such as well and tank remediation and pump repair), to watershed and floodplain studies. Some water and wastewater management and treatment services specialize in smaller effluent generators that produce up to 50,000 gallons of effluent per month. The wastewater treatment process can use biological wastewater treatment or aerobic wastewater treatment to reduce biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) in the treated effluent. Water and wastewater management and treatment services may also help customers meet industry-specific discharge limits in order to reduce wastewater levels. A water and wastewater management and treatment service can manage drummed waste or an on-site wastewater treatment plant. Water treatment services often include risk assessments such as quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) and hazard analysis and critical control points (HACCP).

Water and wastewater management and treatment services are staffed by civil engineering and environmental engineering professionals. Typically, these engineers have a bachelor’s degree or higher in a program approved by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET). Water and wastewater management and treatment services that operate municipal water systems may also retain staff members who are certified water resources engineers as defined by the American Academy of Water Resources Engineers (AAWRE).

In the United States, water and wastewater management and treatment services must have a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit. NPDES regulates household and industrial wastes that are collected in sewers and treated at municipal wastewater treatment plants. Water and wastewater management and treatment services can also help clients ensure that an industrial wastewater treatment process meets Standards 14001 from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). Technical Committee 224 of ISO establishes standards for service activities related to drinking water supply systems and wastewater treatment systems. Other organizations provide standards for biological wastewater treatment and aerobic wastewater treatment.

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