Wastewater

Types

Wastewater is a generic term that may refer to water containing contaminants originating from various settings. Major categories include:

• Domestic wastewater, which encompasses sewage produced by communities and is commonly subdivided into greywater and blackwater.
• Industrial wastewater: waterborne waste generated from a variety of industrial processes, such as manufacturing operations, mineral extraction, power generation, or water and wastewater treatment.
• Cooling water, is released with potential thermal pollution after use to condense steam or reduce machinery temperatures by conduction or evaporation.
• Leachate: precipitation containing pollutants dissolved while percolating through ores, raw materials, products, or solid waste.
• Return flow: the flow of water carrying suspended soil, pesticide residues, or dissolved minerals and nutrients from irrigated cropland.
• Surface runoff: the flow of water occurring on the ground surface when excess rainwater, stormwater, meltwater, or other sources, can no longer sufficiently rapidly infiltrate the soil.
• Urban runoff, including water used for outdoor cleaning activity and landscape irrigation in densely populated areas created by urbanization.
• Agricultural wastewater: animal husbandry wastewater generated from confined animal operations.