Water and Wastewater Treatment Overview

Wastewater treatment refers to the physical, chemical, and biological processes used to remove pollutants from wastewater before discharging it into a waterbody.

Since the Clean Water Act was issued in 1972, there are now more than 16,000 publicly owned wastewater treatment plants in operation in the United States. The continual construction of new plants and the upgrading of older plants create a strong demand for highly skilled operators and designers.

Get Involved: Join the MRRDC!

The WEF Municipal Resource Recovery Design Community (MRRDC) shall serve as the home of Federation members who share common technical interest in municipal wastewater treatment design and are drawn together to be the stewards of this knowledge area. The committee shall develop, recommend, support, and conduct programs of general and technical information relating to advancement of municipal wastewater treatment design practices. 

In so doing, this committee will provide support and technical content to other Federation and/or Member Association Committees a) for the development of various technical publications, b) for the development and delivery of various Federation technical programs such as specialty conferences and WEFTEC, and c) as requested, to advise the Board of Trustees, House of Delegates of Federation, and/or Member Association Committees on municipal wastewater treatment design matters.

Apply to the MRRDC.

Related Websites

• Read more on nutrient pollution on this EPA webpage
• EPA's Office of Wastewater Managment supports the Clean Water Act by promoting effective and responsible water use, wastewater treatment, disposal and management and by encouraging the protection and restoration of watersheds.
• View the EPA's Promoting Technology Innovation for Clean and Safe Water- Water Technology Innovation Blueprint
• Learn about Tulane University's Nirtogen Reduction grand challenge
• View the Alliance for Coastal Technologies' Nutrient Sensor Challenge., and learn how to help with America's nutrient pollution problem
• Cost of Reactive Nitrogen Release from Human Activities to the Environment in the United States View this environmental research article
• EPA provides financial and technical assistance to small and rural communities to establish and improve wastewater treatment services, lower the risk of harm to public health, and protect the environment. View the EPA's Small and Rural Water Systems page
• View this virtual tour of a water resource recovery facility — commonly called a wastewater treatment plant — that discusses how these facilities recycle the water and waste we flush down the drain. Water resource recovery facilities also can recover nutrients, generate energy, and create biosolids for use as fertilizer.
• View “Enabling the Future: Advancing Resource Recovery from Biosolids,” WEF, 2013
• View “Phosphorus in Biosolids: How to Protect Water Quality While Advancing Biosolids Use,” WEF, May 2014
• View “The Road Toward Smarter Nutrient Management in Municipal Water Treatment,” The Johnson Foundation at Wingspread, March 2014.
• Fact Sheets

All fact sheets were produced by members of the Municipal Resource Recovery Design Committee and are available for download.

Anaerobic Digestion Fundamentals
Anaerobic digestion is a sustainability staple at resource recovery facilities. In addition to performing vital solids treatment processes such as stabilization and volatile solids reduction, anaerobic digestion also generates biogas that can be used at the resource recovery facility to generate heat and power.

Fact Sheet Series on Liquid Stream Fundamentals:

• Screening
• Grit Removal
• Sedimentation
• Whole Plant Modeling
• Aeration Design
• Blowers
• Diffusers
• Tertiary Filtration
• Odor Management and Control