PRIMARY WASTEWATER TREATMENT

(Water Quality) The removal of particulate materials from domestic wastewater, usually done by allowing the solid materials to settle as a result of gravity. Typically, the first major stage of treatment encountered by domestic wastewater as it enters a treatment facility. The wastewater is allowed to stand in large tanks, termed Clarifiers or Primary Settling Tanks. Primary treatment plants generally remove 25 to 35 percent of the Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) and 45 to 65 percent of the total suspended matter. Also, any process used for the decomposition, stabilization, or disposal of sludges produced by settling. The water from which solids have been removed is then subjected to Secondary Wastewater Treatment and possibly Tertiary Wastewater Treatment.