EFFLUENT ⇨ RESERVOIR/LAKE

What’s the Story?

Now that’s good! Nice and clean! Although getting “clean” means that the wastewater treatment plant adds chlorine, which could be harmful to the reservoir or lake that is the next stop on the adventure. Chlorine is an inexpensive, highly effective water disinfection chemical that is also used in many swimming pools. To reduce the amount of chlorine in treated effluent water, sometimes wastewater treatment plants aerate the water in order for the chlorine to dissipate or become part of the air, or use other chemicals to dechlorinate the water, reducing the damage it can do to the ecosystem where it is released. Not only is chlorine a potential problem, but often other contaminants that cannot easily be removed in the wastewater treatment process also make their way back out into the ecosystem and water cycle, like microplastics, pharmaceuticals, and chemicals from cleaning & personal care products. Being aware of what goes down the drain, how water is cleaned, and ways to minimize this type of pollution is very important!

Click on your water drop above to travel to the Reservoir/Lake next!!