Water and Wastewater Treatment Principles

Treatment plants run on numbers—and this book gives you all of them in order.

Water and wastewater treatment is a discipline of measured inputs and verified outputs. This practical guide walks you through the calculations, process fundamentals, and laboratory methods that decide compliance and plant performance. You will begin with source water demand and the permitting framework, then move into the chemistry and sampling protocols that underpin every operational decision—from oxygen demand and suspended solids to coliform testing and proper sample preservation.

Design chapters show you how to size flocculation basins by mixing energy, clarifiers by overflow rate, filters by loading and backwash, and disinfection systems by contact time and ultraviolet dose. Wastewater chapters cover screening and grit removal, activated sludge control by sludge age and mixed liquor solids, fixed-film and lagoon systems, nitrogen and phosphorus removal, and digestion with biogas recovery. Throughout, worked control calculations and end-of-part review questions reinforce each concept, preparing you for certification exams and real-world process decisions.

What you will learn:

• Estimate water demand and navigate the regulatory and permitting framework for treatment systems
• Apply water chemistry fundamentals and proper sampling, preservation, and laboratory examination methods
• Perform hydraulic and conveyance calculations for pipes, pumps, and open channels
• Design coagulation, flocculation, and sedimentation units using mixing energy and overflow rate
• Size filtration and membrane systems by loading rate and backwash requirements
• Calculate disinfection contact time and ultraviolet dose for pathogen inactivation
• Control activated sludge processes using sludge age, mixed liquor solids, and oxygen demand
• Evaluate fixed-film, lagoon, and nutrient removal processes for nitrogen and phosphorus
• Manage solids handling, digestion, and biogas recovery for resource recovery

Whether you are a plant operator preparing for certification, a process engineer refining treatment performance, or an environmental engineering student building a working knowledge of treatment design, this book provides the ordered calculations and clear explanations you need to operate and design with confidence.