Treatment Efficiency of Waste Stabilization Ponds

A practical method is given for evaluating the influence of the hydraulics on waste water pond performance. The analysis is based on time-concentration data collected at the outlet for tracer tests performed on prototype ponds and on a hydraulic model. Time-concentration data were collected for many pond designs to evaluate the importance of depth distortion, Reynolds Number, inlets and outlets, length-to-width ratios, and baffling. These data were then coupled with the first order reaction equation to determine the expected treatment efficiency for the different pond designs.