Wastewater Characteristics

After completion of the course you should be able to confidently approach the characterization of sewered and non-sewered sanitation flows, by understanding the most important characteristics of wastewater as well as faecal and septic sludge. You will also be able to calculate the fractions of organic matter, nitrogen and phosphorus in wastewater, as well as design a wastewater and sludge monitoring and sampling program. This course is a fundamental building block if you wish to study the removal of organic matter, nitrogen and phosphorus from wastewater, and to perform design and process calculations as well as modelling.

This course covers the following topics:

• Wastewater Types and Their Characteristics: Introduction (week 1)

• Wastewater Types and Their Characteristics: Microorganisms (week 1)

• Wastewater Types and Their Characteristics: Organic Matter (week 1)

• Wastewater Types and Their Characteristics: Other Characteristics (week 1)

• Wastewater Fractionation: Physical and Chemical Occurrence of Wastewater Components (week 2)

• Wastewater Fractionation: Organic Matter (week 2)

• Wastewater Fractionation: Nitrogen (week 2)

• Wastewater Fractionation: Phosphorus (week 2)

• Wastewater Constituents: Typical Wastewater Composition (week 3)

• Wastewater Dynamics and Sampling: Dynamics of Wastewater Characteristics (week 3)

• Wastewater Dynamics and Sampling: Sampling (week 3)

• Wastewater Dynamics and Sampling: Sampling Examples (week 3)

• Examples and Exercises – preparation for the exam (week 4)

At least two weeks before the course starts, the course materials (pre-recorded video lectures, presentations, and readers) will be made available as open-access resources free of charge for preview. During this period, prospective participants can explore the course materials and decide whether to register for the course. The registration deadline is one day before the course starts.

Registration secures a participant's official place in the course, access to the examination, and, upon successful completion, a Certificate of Completion.

Payment of the course fee in full is a compulsory part of the registration process. The course fee covers administration, management, examination, and certification costs.

Participants who choose not to register will continue to have free access to the course materials until the end of the course, but will not have access to the examination and will not receive a Certificate of Completion.

Please note that the course does not provide instructor guidance. Participants are advised to follow the prescribed weekly schedule by first reading the course textbook materials and then listening to and watching the pre-recorded audio-visual materials. Participants are also encouraged to study the examples provided.

The final week of the course is reserved for examination preparation using the exercises provided in the readers. More information about the examination is provided in the section below.

Registered participants will have access to the examination. The exam will be held on the last day of the course. Exam questions will be sent by the course administrator to participants via email at 8:00 AM (UTC-3). Participants must return their completed exam papers by email on the same day before 8:00 PM (UTC-3), providing a 12-hour window for completion.

The estimated time required to complete the exam is approximately one hour. The exam will be open-book.

Exams will be graded by the course administration staff, and the result will be recorded as either “Pass” or “Fail”. The results will be communicated to participants within one week of the exam date. Successful participants will receive an email with their personalized Certificate of Completion attached.

Unsuccessful participants will be given one opportunity for re-examination under the same conditions, one week after receiving the results of the first examination.

Note: The course fee is non-refundable, regardless of the outcome of the exam or whether a registered participant takes the examination.