Wastewater

Slovak term: Odpadová voda

1. Liquid term Waste discharged from homes, commercial premises and similar sources to individual disposal systems or to municipal sewer pipes, and which contains mainly human excreta and used water (WHO 2006a).
2. The used water and water-carried solids from a community (including used water from industrial processes) that flow to a treatment plant (WHO 2006b).

Explanation

When produced mainly by household and commercial activities, it is called domestic or municipal wastewater or domestic sewage. In this context, domestic sewage does not contain industrial effluents at levels that could pose threats to the functioning of the sewerage system, treatment plant, public health or the environment (WHO 2006a).

Example

Wastewater is all the waste liquid discharge to sewer from a dwelling and contains both black water and greywater (World Plumbing Council Working Group 2008).

References

• WHO (2006a) Guidelines for the safe use of wastewater, excreta and greywater.
• WHO (2006b) Health aspects of plumbing.

Links

• WHO — The Health and Environment Lexicon