Evaluation of Al-Thagher Wastewater Treatment Plant

Abstract

This study aims to evaluate the performance of the sewage treatment plant in Al-Thagher city, in the north of Basrah governorate, the southern part of Iraq. The plant’s performance was estimated based on an analysis of influent and effluent wastewater quality data that represented the monthly averages from Feb. 2017 to Dec. 2018. The results show that the values of temperature (T), pH, ammonia (NH₃–N), chemical oxygen demand (COD) and biological oxygen demand (BOD) in all collected samples from the effluent of the plant met the Iraqi water quality standard (IWQS), whereas the values of electrical conductivity (EC), total dissolved solids (TDS), total suspended solids (TSS), sulfate (SO₄^–2), chloride (Cl^–1) and phosphate (PO₄–P) met the Iraqi water quality standard (IWQS) in some months and did not meet the standard in other months. The average removal efficiencies were in the following order: COD (77.12%) > BOD (77.03%) > TSS (62.26%) > NH₃–N (59.99%) > PO₄–P (12.42%) > Cl^–1 (1.97%). The removal percentages for the remaining parameters had negative values. The Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment water quality index (CCME WQI) value of the treated water was 51.80 and classified as “marginal.” The coefficients of determination between each parameter in influent or effluent were calculated. Finally, linear regression equations between these parameters were formulated so that the value of one parameter could be used to predict the value of a different parameter.