Detailed observation and measurement of sewer sediment erosion under aerobic and anaerobic conditions

Schellart, Alma; Veldkamp, Robin G.; Klootwijk, M.; Clemens, F.H.L.R.; Tait, S.; Ashley, Richard; Howes, Christine

doi:10.2166/wst.2005.0070

Cited by 17 publications

(7 citation statements)

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“…Hence, biofilms may be important in controlling how much sediment is discharged from sewers, making this an important type of biofilm to gain further understanding of. 50…”

Section: Contribution To Environmental Pollutionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It would be possible to argue that parts of the organic layer on sewer sediments or sewer deposits do constitute a biofilm, making parts of the pollution from the discharge of sediments related to biofilms, and the microbial activity has even been related to the sediment stability. Hence, biofilms may be important in controlling how much sediment is discharged from sewers, making this an important type of biofilm to gain further understanding of …”

Section: Contribution To Environmental Pollutionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The importance of sewer biofilms

2016

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In spite of being under ground and out of sight, sewers are important parts of the urban infrastructure for transporting used, contaminated water for safe treatment. Within sewers, during the transport of waste water, processes take place, transforming the chemical components of the waste water. These processes are largely carried out by bacteria, a significant part of which live in biofilms. These microbial processes impact the sewers by causing odor and corrosion of the sewer pipes, leading to the need costly repair and control strategies. The biofilms may also impact the environment by contributing to greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere and pollution in natural aquatic environments. However, improved understanding of the function of biofilms and the novel techniques and approaches for manipulating biofilms may provide us with strategies for controlling these problems. Moreover, such advances may allow us to design in-sewer biofilms for beneficial purposes such as in-pipe treatment of waste water, potentially leading to decreased environmental impact. © 2016 The Authors. WIREs Water published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. How to cite this article:WIREs Water 2016Water , 3:487-494. doi: 10.1002Water /wat2.1144 INTRODUCTION S ewers are extremely important components of urban infrastructure that helps keep the urban environment safe from flooding and prevents the spread of water-borne diseases by safely transporting waste water to the waste water treatment works and through the transport of rain water from urban surfaces.1 Naturally, the focus on sewer design and construction has been on the function of the sewer networks with respect to safe transport of water to fulfill this vital role within urban infrastructure. However, over the years, the understanding of sewer function has been expanded, so that expectations of the urban drainage systems is now also to help minimize the impact of urban activities on the natural environment 2,3 and to prevent odor from waste water in the urban environment. 4 In light of increasing expectations, it is necessary now, more than ever, to design robust sewer networks to fulfil the expected design life of 50-100 years. Existing sewer networks are under increasing strain mainly due to population growth, increasing urbanization, and climate change. The increasing strain on the sewers manifests itself as operational failures leading to flooding events, increased loads on treatment facilities leading to poor quality of water discharge, and leaks linked to enhanced structural deterioration due to concrete corrosion. Early on in the history of the modern sewer networks, it was discovered that the degradation of the materials that the sewers are built from, i.e., mostly concrete, is a consequence of the environment within the sewers. 5 This has led to an increased focus on the processes taking place inside the sewers during the transport of the waste water. 6 It is now generally recognized that the chemical transformations of the waste water and the environmental conditions in the sewers...

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“…Hence, biofilms may be important in controlling how much sediment is discharged from sewers, making this an important type of biofilm to gain further understanding of. 50…”

Section: Contribution To Environmental Pollutionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Contribution To Environmental Pollutionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The importance of sewer biofilms

2016

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“…Biological processes and the formation of biofilms on pipe walls have also been shown to influence the stability of in‐sewer sediment deposits (Schellart et al. ; Sakrabani et al. ) and change the roughness of the pipe surfaces, and therefore influence the hydraulic performance of the sewer pipes (Guzman et al.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Not only can these changes be caused by variable system inputs, such as wastewater and rainfall, but are also dependent on biological processes such as the degradation of organic matter and both the production and degradation of hydrogen sulfide (e.g., Hvitved-Jacobsen 2002; Rudelle et al 2011). Biological processes and the formation of biofilms on pipe walls have also been shown to influence the stability of in-sewer sediment deposits (Schellart et al 2005;Sakrabani et al 2009) and change the roughness of the pipe surfaces, and therefore influence the hydraulic performance of the sewer pipes (Guzman et al 2007). Currently, the performance of sewers is generally evaluated based on their hydraulic conditions, such as risk of sewer flooding; however, wastewater quality models are also increasingly being applied to describe changing physicochemical conditions with respect to the composition of ORIGINAL RESEARCH Spatial and temporal variability of bacterial communities within a combined sewer system the wastewater within sewer networks (Hvitved-Jacobsen 2002;Jiang et al 2009;Vollertsen et al 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial and temporal variability of bacterial communities within a combined sewer system

et al. 2016

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This study describes the temporal and spatial variability of bacterial communities within a combined sewer system in England. Sampling was conducted over 9 months in a sewer system with intensive monitoring of hydraulic conditions. The bacterial communities were characterized by 16S rRNA gene‐targeted terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis. These data were related to the hydraulic data as well as the sample type, location, and time. Temporal and spatial variation was observed between and within wastewater communities and biofilm communities. The bacterial communities in biofilm were distinctly different from the communities in wastewater and exhibited greater spatial variation, while the wastewater communities exhibited variability between different months of sampling. This study highlights the variation of bacterial communities between biofilm and wastewater, and has shown both spatial and temporal variations in bacterial communities in combined sewers. The temporal variation is of interest for in‐sewer processes, for example, sewer odor generation, as field measurements for these processes are often carried out over short durations and may therefore not capture the influence of this temporal variation of the bacterial communities.

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“…Sediments used during these tests were uniform silicate sand with a d 50 of 276 mm and a density of 2,650 kg/m 3 and lightweight sediment with a d 50 of 400 mm and a density of 1,050 kg/m 3 . The material was selected to have similar particle diameters and densities to the granular and fine suspended sediment observed in combined sewers of similar diameters(Ashley et al 2004;Schellart et al 2005). A dry mass of 50 kg of lightweight sediment and 5 kg and 10 kg of silicate sand were used to investigate the effect of sediment concentration within the system.…”

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confidence: 99%

In-sewer sedimentation associated with active flow control

Williams

Tait

Ashley

2009

Water Science and Technology

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Active flow control using automated gates and weirs aims to utilise available dispersed storage within sewer systems to alleviate the severity and frequency of localised flooding incidents. Whilst a previous study has demonstrated its potential, a key operational concern before implementation was sedimentation. An experimental programme was designed to investigate the sediment deposition created when using a flow control device. Tests were also undertaken to examine the potential for rapid gate opening to flush away any resulting deposits. In catchments dominated by fine material in suspension, the use of an active flow control device can result in a uniformly thick deposit upstream of the gate. Rapid gate opening results in deposited material eroding in large sections starting at the gate and moving in an upstream direction. Granular sediment forms a series of discrete bedforms which are fairly uniform regardless of the flow conditions and a larger deposit further upstream. The potential for flushing granular deposits is limited and modification of the operation of the gate has shown little potential for increasing the effectiveness. Therefore, active flow control using a single downstream gate may only be suitable in systems with fine material moving in suspension during dry weather flow and not where there is significant granular sediment.

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Detailed observation and measurement of sewer sediment erosion under aerobic and anaerobic conditions

Cited by 17 publications

References 0 publications

The importance of sewer biofilms

The importance of sewer biofilms

Spatial and temporal variability of bacterial communities within a combined sewer system

In-sewer sedimentation associated with active flow control

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