How waste water treatment plants work
The waste water arrives to the treatment plant from the sewer network and undergoes the following treatment process:
- Debris such as rags and grit are removed using large screens. This screened debris is then sent to a skip and eventually the contents of this skip will be sent for landfill.
- The screened waste water then passes into large tanks known as aeration basins. This is where the biological treatment of the waste water takes place. In these tanks naturally forming micro-organisms breakdown the waste in the water, in turn cleaning the water.
- This mix of clean water and micro-organisms then naturally separate in large tanks known as clarifiers.
- The clean water then flows out to the river and the micro-organism are returned to the aeration tank to treat more waste water.
Regulation of discharge from treatment plants
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulates the discharges from all waste water treatment plants in County Meath via the waste water discharge licences/certificates.
The aim of these licences is to ensure that discharges do not have any significant impact on the receiving water body (e.g. river).