ABSTRACT
Like drinking water, liquid wastewater effluent is disinfected. Unlike drinking water, wastewater effluent is disinfected not to directly (direct end-of-pipe connection) protect a drinking water supply but instead to protect public health in general. This is particularly important when the secondary effluent is discharged into a body of water used for swimming or water supply for a downstream water supply. In the treatment of water for human consumption, treated water is typically chlorinated (although ozonation is also currently being applied in many cases). Chlorination is the preferred disinfection in potable water supplies because of the unique ability of chlorine to provide a residual. This chlorine residual is important because when treated water leaves the waterworks facility and enters the distribution system the possibility of contamination is increased. The residual works to continuously disinfect water right up to the consumer’s tap. This chapter discusses basic chlorination and dechlorination. In addition, it describes ultraviolet (UV) irradiation, ozonation, and bromine chlorine disinfection.
