HOW DOES THE CCMUA TREAT WASTEWATER?
At the main plant, water from the Camden City system and the regional collection system enters a Junction Chamber where the two flows mix together. (There is also a smaller inflow from North Camden and Pennsauken Township.) The Preliminary Treatment Facility screens out large objects and lets sand and gravel settle out of the wastewater. In the Primary Sedimentation Tanks, more waste settles out of the water as “primary sludge”. At this point it has completed “primary treatment.” The water flows into the Aeration Tanks to be mixed with secondary sludge and a source of oxygen. In the Aeration Tanks, bacteria consume more pollutants. Next, in the Final Sedimentation Tanks, clumps of dead bacteria and pollutants are allowed to settle out as “secondary sludge”. About 30% of the secondary sludge is returned to the Aeration Tanks, and the rest is dewatered and further processed. The wastewater proceeds to the Chlorine Contact Tanks. Here it is mixed with a sodium hypochlorite solution – simi
