Seasonal temperature-related variation of humus tank settlement efficiency

This study uses several years of effluent quality data from 43 sites where online monitoring has been operational for many years resulting in the accumulation of high-resolution data sets. The data show a highly repeatable, seasonal dependence of effluent turbidity on temperature. This has been modelled with simple techniques producing a generic model that is neither data hungry nor requires site calibration. Viscosity-based mechanisms are proposed and discussed. These mechanisms differ from conventional assumptions of suspended solids peaks being solely flow related and or ascribed to ‘spring sloughing’. The proposal is that the organic loading of the filter and the physical temperature effects on settlement velocity are both as influential as hydraulic loading in determining effluent suspended solids concentration. Application of the models enables improved design for new/upgraded units and more accurate capacity assessment of trickling filters and humus tanks enabling improved operational risk management of compliance failure.