| A | B |
|---|
| sewage | general term for any water coming from indoor plumbing (human wastes, shower, sinks etc) |
| graywater | any water that has been used in the home, except water from toilets |
| graywater systems | reuse of water drained from baths, showers, washing machines, and sinks (household wastewater excluding toilet wastes) for irrigation of plants (excluding those for direct human consumptions) |
| black or brown water | wastewater containing fecal matter and urine |
| septic tank | an underground tank containing bacteria that treats wastewater as it passes through |
| leach field | the ground area around a septic tank through which wastewater filters after leaving the septic tank |
| sludge | deposits of fine solids that settle out from wastewater during the treatment process |
| pathogen | a disease causing organism |
| Primary Treatment | Grinding up of sewage and sedimentation to separate solids (sludge) from wastewater |
| Secondary Treatment | Wastewater is aerated and bacteria breakdown organic material in wastewater |
| Tertiary Treatment | passing secondary effluent through filters to remove fine particulate matter |
| effluent | outflow of water from a treatment process |
| clarifiers | tanks that allow solids in the water to settle to the bottom |
| aerobic bacteria | organisms used in Secondary Treatment of wastewater |
| aeration basin | where large amounts of oxygen are mixed with the effluent from Primary Treatment |
| anaerobic digester | facility were sludge from previous treatment processes is decomposed in the absence of oxygen, producing methane and biosolids |
| reclaimed water | water produced by tertiary treatment |
| biosolids | organic material left over after sludge passes through anaerobic digester that can be used as a soil amendment |
| discharge pipe | long pipeline that releases treated wastewater offshore |
| fuel cell | converts methane, a byproduct of wastewater treatment into electricity |
