1.0 Introduction
Recently, the amounts of wastewater are sharply increasing and the kinds of pollutants are also
varied as the worldwide industry is being developed incessantly. With respect to both quantity
and composition, the textile processing wastewater is recorded as the most polluted source
among all industrial sectors (Chang et al., 2009). At wastewater treatment plants, wastewater is
treated before it is allowed to be returned to the environment, lakes or streams.
In Malaysia, primary treatment systems are used extensively with the assist of communal septic
tanks, imhoff tanks and even unreliable low cost secondary systems such as oxidation ponds.
Individual Septic Tanks (IST) are utilized in large urban areas. It is estimated that there are over
one million individual septic tanks in Malaysia. One major concern appealing is that these tanks
only partially treat sewage, discharging an effluent still rich in organic material. This has the
potential to create public health and environmental problems, particularly in urban areas.
Approximately 38% of public sewage treatment plants in the country are mechanical plants.
These plants operate using mechanical equipment that accelerates sewage breakdown.
In the next few decades, it is speculated that Malaysia and some other neighborhood countries
will most likely to face some serious challenges to its water resources, including deteriorating
infrastructure, continued population growth and development, impacts of climate change,
emerging contaminants, widespread nutrient pollution and strains on water supply.
Consequently, the discovering of new energy-efficient and cost-effective ways to meet today’s
demands and tomorrow’s challenges will be appreciated. For this reason, there will be some shift
in strategy in new plants design and retrofitting and upgrading the existing facilities. One of the
substantial strategies is through an eco-friendly idea of using vegetation as water filtration
system. Using plants to filter water is not new and there are some proposals to implement the
usage of green technology in the wastewater treatment but to no avail due to installment costs
and ineffectiveness issues.
2
,Water-filtered plants use dissolved nutrients to sift which includes substances such as
phosphorus or nitrogen, chemically bond with soil particles. This basically means that a specific
plant is naturally capable of purifying any water that it comes into contact with. This report
proposes a conceptual design of wastewater treatment by using specifically aquatic water lilies to
filter and purify water. Water lilies have proven especially effective in absorbing heavy metals
from the water. Submerged plants that grow under the water are very good at absorbing
pollutants. They also help keeping the water balance by cycling the carbon dioxide and oxygen
in and out.
Even so, future directions of implementing this environmental friendly system are expected in
many interrelated areas of wastewater treatment fields such as health and environmental concern,
improved wastewater characterization, rehabilitation of aging infrastructure and also the energy
reduction and recovery from wastewater. Hence, to implement this idea into the current
wastewater treatment system is somehow challenging and requires extra care so that the
outcomes will be sustainable.
3
, 2.0 Case Study
By following the design approach and the standard code of developing the wastewater treatment
plant, the design of the model in the selected living area (Arau, Perlis) is proposed as follows:
2.1 Background
The project location chosen is at Arau, Perlis which is at a decent distance from the one
and only water treatment plant in Kangar which located at Bintong. The location chosen
is considered ideal since Arau consist of around 10% of total population in Perlis. The
development of the location is also rapid. This area covers few residential areas such as
Taman Saujana Idaman, Taman Sri Idaman, Taman Jejawi and Kampung Keriang Dan.
Also, it consists of institution facilities, Universiti Malaysia Perlis Kubang Gajah campus
and Sekolah Kebangsaan Kubang Gajah.
Figure 2.1.1: Map of Arau, Perlis
4
Recently, the amounts of wastewater are sharply increasing and the kinds of pollutants are also
varied as the worldwide industry is being developed incessantly. With respect to both quantity
and composition, the textile processing wastewater is recorded as the most polluted source
among all industrial sectors (Chang et al., 2009). At wastewater treatment plants, wastewater is
treated before it is allowed to be returned to the environment, lakes or streams.
In Malaysia, primary treatment systems are used extensively with the assist of communal septic
tanks, imhoff tanks and even unreliable low cost secondary systems such as oxidation ponds.
Individual Septic Tanks (IST) are utilized in large urban areas. It is estimated that there are over
one million individual septic tanks in Malaysia. One major concern appealing is that these tanks
only partially treat sewage, discharging an effluent still rich in organic material. This has the
potential to create public health and environmental problems, particularly in urban areas.
Approximately 38% of public sewage treatment plants in the country are mechanical plants.
These plants operate using mechanical equipment that accelerates sewage breakdown.
In the next few decades, it is speculated that Malaysia and some other neighborhood countries
will most likely to face some serious challenges to its water resources, including deteriorating
infrastructure, continued population growth and development, impacts of climate change,
emerging contaminants, widespread nutrient pollution and strains on water supply.
Consequently, the discovering of new energy-efficient and cost-effective ways to meet today’s
demands and tomorrow’s challenges will be appreciated. For this reason, there will be some shift
in strategy in new plants design and retrofitting and upgrading the existing facilities. One of the
substantial strategies is through an eco-friendly idea of using vegetation as water filtration
system. Using plants to filter water is not new and there are some proposals to implement the
usage of green technology in the wastewater treatment but to no avail due to installment costs
and ineffectiveness issues.
2
,Water-filtered plants use dissolved nutrients to sift which includes substances such as
phosphorus or nitrogen, chemically bond with soil particles. This basically means that a specific
plant is naturally capable of purifying any water that it comes into contact with. This report
proposes a conceptual design of wastewater treatment by using specifically aquatic water lilies to
filter and purify water. Water lilies have proven especially effective in absorbing heavy metals
from the water. Submerged plants that grow under the water are very good at absorbing
pollutants. They also help keeping the water balance by cycling the carbon dioxide and oxygen
in and out.
Even so, future directions of implementing this environmental friendly system are expected in
many interrelated areas of wastewater treatment fields such as health and environmental concern,
improved wastewater characterization, rehabilitation of aging infrastructure and also the energy
reduction and recovery from wastewater. Hence, to implement this idea into the current
wastewater treatment system is somehow challenging and requires extra care so that the
outcomes will be sustainable.
3
, 2.0 Case Study
By following the design approach and the standard code of developing the wastewater treatment
plant, the design of the model in the selected living area (Arau, Perlis) is proposed as follows:
2.1 Background
The project location chosen is at Arau, Perlis which is at a decent distance from the one
and only water treatment plant in Kangar which located at Bintong. The location chosen
is considered ideal since Arau consist of around 10% of total population in Perlis. The
development of the location is also rapid. This area covers few residential areas such as
Taman Saujana Idaman, Taman Sri Idaman, Taman Jejawi and Kampung Keriang Dan.
Also, it consists of institution facilities, Universiti Malaysia Perlis Kubang Gajah campus
and Sekolah Kebangsaan Kubang Gajah.
Figure 2.1.1: Map of Arau, Perlis
4
