CIVN2013 – Introduction to Environmental Engineering
Tutorial Set No. 2
Due Date: 05 September, 2022
Highest Score Possible, 29 points
Water: Properties, Quantities, and Sources; Water Pollution; Water
Treatment
Problem 1 (13 points)
A shit flow diagram (SFD) is a graphic that is used to understand and
communicate how excreta physically flows through a city or town. SFDs track
both wastewater (WW) and faecal sludge (FS). As a result, they can be used to
track the environmental and health impact of sanitation in different communities,
regardless of whether the said communities use sewer or non-sewer sanitation
systems. Figure 1 (below) shows an SFD for a large town in Mpumalanga. Of
particular interest, from the figure, are the FS and WW flows from three
communities: CA, CB, and CC. Assuming that (i) at the “local level”, the bulk of
faecal matter from CC is quickly incorporated into the soil and that (ii) the
direction in which groundwater and surface water flows is from the locality of CC
towards the Mfulamkhulu River, which community is likely to have the most
impact on the physical and the microbiological quality of the Mfulamkhulu River?
Please explain your choice using no more than five sentences. Do you expect
the same community to have the most impact on the chemical quality of the
River’s water? Explain your answer using no more than three sentences.
Note: If you have to make additional assumptions, not that it is necessary to do
so, please clearly state those assumptions.
[This problem was in the 2021 mid-semester test]
Problem 2 (10 points)
Coming home after the end of the winter semester, you find that your family’s
swimming pool has not be maintained well. In particular, it has no chlorine
residual at all, and it is full of tree leaves. You buy a concentrated chlorine
solution (1% as Cl2) and begin to meter it into the pool at a rate of 100 mL/hour.
The pool has a volume of 200 m3. You also add new water, and remove in-pool
water, at a rate of 3.785 L/minute. The chlorine reacts with the organic matter in
the with a rate of 0.5/hour. How long will it take to get the Cl 2 residual up to 1
mg/L if you add Cl2 continously. [15]
[This problem was in the 2021 mid-semester test]
Problem 3 (6 points)
“Bacterial cells are often represented by the chemical formula C5H7NO2.
Compute the theoretical carbonaceous oxygen demand in (mg/L) in a 1 Molar
solution of cells in water?”
Unpack the problem statement above and use first principles to outline how you
would solve the problem. In your answer you should particularly explain how the
proposed solution captures the physical reality presented in the problem
statement. Keep your answer short and simple. DO NOT SOLVE THE
PROBLEM!
Bonus Question. Do NOT Submit.
Each set of lecture slides for this course begins by identifying relevant sections
from the prescribed textbook. Based on what you read (from the textbook!) when
you were preparing for the lectures on water quality, particularly the sub-section
on acid base chemistry and acidification, do the following:
