IN DORABALTEA WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANTS, WHERE WASTEWATER ENTERS CONTAMINATED AND EXITS CLEAN, NATURE DOES THE WORK
Why should I solve the problem of pollution from my wastewater? In Italy, there are about 24 million households, of which about 30% are not served by public treatment systems and discharge wastewater directly into streams, rivers, lakes, the sea, and the land. Considering a daily water consumption of 200 liters per person*, it is estimated that from about 8 million households, nearly 2 million billion liters of potentially contaminated and hygienically dangerous water for humans and the environment are discharged into the environment every day. The morphological characteristics of our beautiful Italy often do not allow buildings in rural areas, immersed in peace and tranquility, to be easily reached by public collective sewers. To reduce their environmental impact and eliminate health risks, current regulations in Italy require that water from buildings not connected to public sewers must necessarily have a standalone wastewater treatment system, which aims to make the water suitably treated and no longer harmful to the ecosystem and to the humans who inhabit it. By recreating what happens in nature through biological processes that have been in place for millions of years, it is possible to treat wastewater from households or from activities such as restaurants, hotels, tourist facilities, and food processing. The biological treatment plant is a confined space, usually completely underground, consisting of one or more tanks and can be constructed from cement, iron, or increasingly from plastic materials. Inside these watertight containers, a series of mandatory steps are carried out where the water to be treated comes into contact with a large number of “good” degrading microorganisms, which feed on our waste contained in the water, identifiable as “bad microorganisms” such as viruses, bacteria, and polluting compounds. The “bad microorganisms” are for the “good microorganisms” food that, by metabolizing and transforming it, turns it into not only a harmless waste but even a resource for nature, thus making the water clean again and safely dischargeable directly into the environment. To verify whether the quality of the treated water discharged into the environment is hygienically and healthily safe, it is necessary to analyze samples of treated water through specific laboratory analytical tests. To assist a consumer in choosing the best system for their needs, there is R.Eu. 305/11 and a national decree that requires independent treatment plants to be CE EN12566 certified. For the manufacturer of treatment plants, this mandatory certificate can only be completed after a long series of tests indicated in the technical standard, which are carried out at specific laboratories accredited at the European level that verify the efficiencies of wastewater treatment systems for almost 12 months. A non-EN12566 certified plant is ILLEGAL and according to D.Lgs. 106/17, those who contributed to the marketing of “UNSAFE and DANGEROUS products,” such as professionals, companies, retailers, and not least consumers, can be sanctioned. In a well-constructed and maintained treatment process, all chemical and bacterial parameters fall within the legal limits for hygienic and environmental safety. *https://www.istat.it/it/files/2014/06/2014_06_26_Report_censimento_acqua.PDF
