Determining the contribution of the wastewater treatment plant to the sustainable environment with water footprint indicators

Millions of cubic meters of water are polluted every day as a result of industrialization and other human activities. The contribution of the Wastewater Treatment Plant, which was built to prevent this pollution, to the water cycle was examined through water footprint indicators in this study. In the study, the wastewater treatment plant was evaluated for treated and non-treated cases, and the contribution of the plant to the grey water footprint was determined from the difference between the two cases. Wastewater Treatment Plants not only save the volume of water in the receiving environment but also protect the water quality. This study revealed that as a result of the treatment of industrial and domestic mixed wastewater with a pollution load of 396.297 mg biochemical oxygen demand L-1, 924.245 mg chemical oxygen demand L-1, 26.139 mg total nitrogen L-1 2.76 mg total phosphorus L-1, and 426.861 mg total suspended solids L-1, in the Wastewater Treatment Plant, it recovered an average of 14,375,243 m(3) of freshwater per month in the water cycle by protecting the Class III (medium) water quality of receiving environment. The calculations made in the study are based on the Water Footprint Assessment Manual. The volume of recovered water is 19 +/- 14 times larger than the inlet flow of wastewater treatment. On the other hand, the total amount of freshwater consumed directly and indirectly in the wastewater treatment is 3696 m(3) month-1. 97.093% of the indirect blue water footprint is used for the generation of electrical energy. This study reveals all aspects of the Wastewater Treatment Plants contribution to the sustainable environment with the natural water cycle and the protection of the receiving water quality