SYLLABUS

 

CE 335 – Introduction to Water and Wastewater Treatment

 

Spring Semester, 2007

 

 

General Information

Time and location:

MWF, 10:00 AM in Tapy 219

 

 

Instructor:

Dr. Kerry J. Howe, P.E.

 

Office:  112 Tapy

 

Office phone:  277-2702

 

Home phone:  821-9787

 

Email address:  howe@unm.edu

 

Office hours:  I am in my office or the lab frequently.  Stop by anytime my door is open, or call or email to make an appointment.

 

 

Textbook:

Introduction to Environmental Engineering, 4th

by Mackenzie Davis and David Cornwell

 

Prerequisites:

CE 331L – Fluid Mechanics

Chem 121/122L – General Chemistry

 

Course Objectives

The objectives of this course are to (1) introduce the problem-solving concepts and tools commonly used in environmental engineering, (2) present the fundamental operations and processes that are used in environmental engineering, with a focus on water and wastewater treatment processes, and (3) instill knowledge essential for basic understanding of environmental systems.  Problem-solving skills are emphasized.

 

The topics covered are:

1.   Introduction to environmental engineering and environmental systems

2.   Materials and energy balances

3.   Reactors, hydraulic characteristics, and flow regimes

4.   Water use trends and projections

5.   Water chemistry concepts

6.   Water constituents and quality standards

7.   Water treatment operations

8.   Coagulation and flocculation

9.   Sedimentation

10. Filtration

11. Disinfection

12. Wastewater microbiology

13. Wastewater generation characteristics

14. Wastewater treatment operations

15. Biological treatment, activated sludge systems

16. Biological treatment, alternate systems

 

Course OUTCOMES

This course contributes to the educational outcomes identified by the CE department.  Upon completion of this course, you should:

 

1.   Understand the basic scientific principles underlying environmental systems and environmental engineering, including mass balances, reactor hydraulics, mass transfer, water chemistry, and wastewater microbiology.

 

2.   Understand and be able to apply the central problem-solving techniques commonly used in environmental engineering, and be able to solve engineering problems in a structured manner.

 

3.   Understand the purpose, operation, underlying mechanisms, and basic design principles of common water and wastewater treatment processes, and be able to apply these principles to produce creative, cost-effective designs of water and wastewater treatment engineering systems.

 

Grading

Homework                   20%

Class participation        10%

Midterm #1                  15%

Midterm #2                  15%

Midterm #3                  15%

Final exam                    25%                 (Friday, May 11, 7:30 am – 9:30 am)

 

Academic Integrity

The University expects all students to maintain the highest level of integrity.  Cheating or plagiarism will not be tolerated.  University policies regarding academic integrity are available in the UNM Student Handbook (Pathfinder) and online at http://www.unm.edu/~sac/policies.html.

 

Course Website

Students are expected to have access to a computer and a UNM NetID for this course.  Course materials, including the syllabus, handouts, and homework solutions will be posted on a course website.  You can access the website at http://vista.unm.edu by clicking the Login icon, and entering your UNM Net ID and password.  You will need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader to read PDF files posted on the course website.

 

FIELD TRIPS

We will take field trips to the Santa Fe Water Treatment Plant and the Albuquerque Southside Water Reclamation Plant about midway through the semester.  These field trips provide context to the material learned in the classroom and are a required part of the course.  The time will be arranged after the semester begins.

 

READING ASSIGNMENTS

The reading assignments are an integral part of the course and are intended to help you learn the material.  Reading assignments are generally not long (typically 10-20 pages) and should be completed before coming to class.  Exams may cover material from the assigned readings even if it is not covered in the classroom.

 

Homework Policy

The homework is intended to help you learn the material.  All students should make an effort to solve every problem on their own and should not work together in groups, splitting the homework problems between the students.  If you have put forth a sincere effort but cannot solve a problem on your own, it is acceptable for another student to teach you how to solve the problem, but it is not acceptable for you to just use another student’s paper as a guide.

 

All homework must be done in pencil using the standard format for the Civil Engineering department (an example is available on the course website).  All homework must be neat and legible or it will not be graded.

 

Use of a spreadsheet (i.e., Excel) or other computational software may be necessary for some homework assignments.  When a spreadsheet is used, the homework assignment must include the spreadsheet input and output, and must identify the equation for each column or row in the spreadsheet.  Graphs drawn by hand are not encouraged, but if done so, they must be done with a straight edge on graph paper and be properly scaled and labeled.

 

Homework must be turned in at the beginning of class on the day it is due, with no exceptions.  The lowest homework assignment grade will be dropped when your grade is calculated.

 

Exam policy

The exams will be closed book and closed notes.  Five minutes before the end of an exam, the time remaining will be announced.  You should be prepared to submit your exam paper at the end of that time.  At the end of the exam period, the instructor or proctor will leave the room with all submitted exam material.  No exam material of any kind will be accepted by the instructor or proctor after leaving the exam room.  Medical illness or other exceptional circumstances will be the only excuse for missing an exam, and you will be expected to provide definitive evidence of the circumstances or illness.  You must inform the instructor in advance if you must miss an exam, unless there are compelling reasons why you cannot do so.  If you miss an exam for a medical reason or other exceptional circumstance, either a make-up exam will be given or the other exams will be weighted heavier, at the instructor’s discretion.  If you miss an exam for other reasons, you will be assigned a grade of zero.

 

News Lists

Topics pertinent to environmental systems and environmental engineering are prevalent in the general media.  Familiarization with current issues related to environmental engineering will be beneficial to students.  The following free email news service lists are one source of current information:

 

1.         Water Tech e-News daily:

            http://www.informz.net/ntp_wt/profile.asp

 

2.         Safedrinkingwater.com News:

            http://www.safedrinkingwater.com/subscribe/subscribe.htm