A treatment pond is intended to provide
wastewater treatment
Wastewater treatment is a process used to remove contaminants from wastewater and convert it into an effluent that can be returned to the water cycle. Once returned to the water cycle, the effluent creates an acceptable impact on the environme ...
to achieve a certain effluent quality.
Pond
A pond is an area filled with water, either natural or artificial, that is smaller than a lake. Defining them to be less than in area, less than deep, and with less than 30% emergent vegetation helps in distinguishing their ecology from th ...
s are depressions holding water confined by earthen structures.
Kinds of treatment pond include:
*
Aerated lagoon
An aerated lagoon (or aerated pond) is a simple wastewater treatment system consisting of a pond with artificial aeration to promote the biological oxidation of wastewaters.
There are many other aerobic biological processes for treatment of waste ...
s rely upon mechanical aerators providing oxygen to reduce the organic content measured as biochemical oxygen demand (BOD).
*
Anaerobic lagoon An anaerobic lagoon or manure lagoon is a man-made outdoor earthen basin filled with animal waste that undergoes anaerobic respiration as part of a system designed to manage and treat refuse created by concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs). ...
s are waste stabilization ponds providing habitat for anaerobic microorganisms.
*
Free surface constructed wetlands are shallow ponds using managed arrangements of rooted vegetation to physically arrest solids and particulate material while removing soluble nutrients in the water by uptake into plant tissue and supplying oxygen to the water to reduce BOD.
*
Detention basin
A detention basin or retarding basin is an excavated area installed on, or adjacent to, tributaries of rivers, streams, lakes or bays to protect against flooding and, in some cases, downstream erosion by storing water for a limited period of time ...
s are designed to temporarily hold runoff as a flood control measure; they are also called "dry ponds", "holding ponds" or "dry detention basins" if no permanent pool of water exists.
*
Facultative lagoon Facultative lagoons are a type of waste stabilization pond used for biological treatment of industrial and domestic wastewater. Sewage or organic waste from food or fiber processing may be catabolized in a system of constructed ponds where adequate ...
s are waste stabilization ponds providing stable stratified habitat for both aerobic organisms near the surface and anaerobic organisms in deeper water.
*
Infiltration basin
An infiltration basin (or recharge basin) is a form of engineered sump or percolation pond that is used to manage stormwater runoff, prevent flooding and downstream erosion, and improve water quality in an adjacent river, stream, lake or bay. It i ...
s are ponds designed to percolate their contents into groundwater though underlying permeable soils serving as a filter to remove solids and some dissolved material through ion exchange or oxidation by soil microbes.
*
Bank-side reservoirs are lined ponds for temporary storage of water taken from a nearby river during periods of adequate flow and good water quality.
*
Retention basin
A retention basin, sometimes called a wet pond, wet detention basin, or stormwater management pond (SWMP), is an artificial pond with vegetation around the perimeter and a permanent pool of water in its design. It is used to manage stormwater r ...
s are wet ponds designed to temporarily hold runoff as a flood control measure.
*
Settling basin
A settling basin, settling pond or decant pond is an earthen or concrete structure using sedimentation to remove settleable matter and turbidity from wastewater. The basins are used to control water pollution in diverse industries such as agricult ...
s separate solids from liquid wastewaters by gravity without provision for reducing BOD of those solids through biochemical oxidation.
*
Waste stabilization pond
Waste stabilization ponds (WSPs or stabilization ponds or waste stabilization lagoons) are ponds designed and built for wastewater treatment to reduce the organic content and remove pathogens from wastewater. They are man-made depressions confine ...
s are ponds built for wastewater treatment where biological processes occur which reduce the BOD and kill pathogens in the wastewater.
{{Set index article