# BSEN30280

**Source**: https://hub.ucd.ie/usis/!W_HU_MENU.P_PUBLISH?p_tag=MODULE&MODULE=BSEN30280&TERMCODE=202500&ACYR=2026
**Parent**: https://hub.ucd.ie/usis/!W_HU_MENU.P_PUBLISH?p_tag=COURSE&MAJR=ETS2&AUDIENCE=

Academic Year 2025/2026

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#### Water and Wastewater Engineering (BSEN30280)

Subject:
:   Biosystems Engineering

College:
:   Engineering & Architecture

School:
:   Biosystems & Food Engineering

Level:
:   3 (Degree)

Credits:
:   5

Module Coordinator:
:   Dr Rajat Nag

Trimester:
:   Autumn

Mode of Delivery:
:   On Campus

Internship Module:
:   No

How will I be graded?
:   Letter grades

Curricular information is subject to change.

This module is focused on Environmental Engineering in relation to water, including: key parameters of water quality for different water sources; physical, chemical and biological techniques used in water and wastewater treatment and basic hydrologic principles. Risk assessment and Health and safety aspects relevant to the area will also be reviewed.

## About this Module

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### What will I learn?

###### Learning Outcomes:

On completion of this module students should be able to: \
\
1. Critically assess current research in the area of water quality monitoring: extract, through literature and data search, information pertinent to a given water quality issue.\
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2. Describe important parameters of water quality, distinguish between drinking, surface and wastewater standards with reference to relevant Irish and EU legislation.\
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3. Describe and compare main methods for measuring water pollutants; analyse and interpret water quality data.\
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4. Explain and differentiate between the unit operations of water and wastewater treatment facilities; select appropriate unit processes to achieve specific treatment requirements.\
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5. Model simplified systems to using mass balances to understand and predict contaminant transport in water treatment plants and in the landscape.\
\

###### Indicative Module Content:

The module content is as follows:\
1. Introduction\
Convert concentrations of individual species into common constituent units\
Differentiate between different water sources and the relative advantages & disadvantages of each.\
Distinguish between point and diffuse sources of pollution\
\
2. Water quality parameters and literature review\
Understand the main parameters used to evaluate water quality\
Understand key stages of carrying out a literature review\
How to use a database (OneSearch)\
How to use reference management software (Mendeley)\
\
3. EU legislation and water treatment\
Outline EU legislation for water quality\
Understand differences in quality standards for drinking, bathing, wastewater and water for re-use\
Understand physical-chemical processes involved in water treatment \
Carry out calculations to estimate treatment parameters\
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4. Data analysis on water quality parameters (based on open-source data provided by EPA): workshop\
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5. Physical and biological processes\
Use the law of conservation of mass to write a mass balance that includes rate of chemical production or disappearance.\
Differentiate batch reactors, completed mixed flow reactors, and plug-flow reactors.\
Relate a reactor’s retention time to reactor volume and flow.\
Use 1-3 to model the movement of pollutants through the environment\
Understand microbial growth and death curves\
\
6. Wastewater treatment part 1\
Design a grit chamber\
Design a primary settling tank\
\
7. Wastewater treatment part 2\
Integrate mass balances with biological growth kinetics to develop design equations for secondary treatment\
Determine levels of treated wastewater that can safely be put in a river\
\
8. Hydrology\
Estimate surface runoff from changing land use\
Understand physical mechanisms of infiltration\
Estimate infiltration using a variety of models\
\

### How will I learn?

###### Student Effort Hours:

| Student Effort Type | Hours |
| --- | --- |
| Specified Learning Activities | 26 |
| Autonomous Student Learning | 50 |
| Lectures | 18 |
| Online Learning | 6 |
|  |  |
| --- | --- |
| Total | 100 |

\

###### Approaches to Teaching and Learning:

The key teaching and learning approaches will include: active/task-based learning; peer and group work; lectures; enquiry & problem-based learning; student presentations.

### Am I eligible to take this module?

###### Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations

**Learning Recommendations:**\

It would be advantageous if students have studied engineering or science subjects and have a proficiency in mathematics.

\

###### Module Requisites and Incompatibles

**Incompatibles:**\
BSEN40180 - *Advanced Environmental Eng*\
\
\
 \

### How will I be assessed?

###### Assessment Strategy

| Description | Timing | Component Scale | Must Pass Component | % of Final Grade | In Module Component Repeat Offered |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Assignment(Including Essay): Data analysis and report on comparative assessment of water quality parameters based on EPA's open-source data from water quality monitoring stations across Ireland | Week 10 | Graded | Yes | 20 | Yes |
| Exam (In-person): 1 hour closed-book end-of-trimester exam (last Monday of trimester) | Week 12 | Graded | Yes | 60 | Yes |
| Group Work Assignment: Literature review on water quality parameters: sources, measurements, and consequences | Week 6 | Graded | Yes | 20 | Yes |

\

###### Carry forward of passed components

No

\

### What happens if I fail?

| Resit In | Terminal Exam |
| --- | --- |
| Spring | Yes - 1 Hour |

*Please see [Student Jargon Buster](https://www.ucd.ie/students/services/ucdstudentjargonbuster/) for more information about remediation types and timing.* \

### Assessment feedback

###### Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, on an activity or draft prior to summative assessment\
• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment\

###### How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Feedback provided mid semester

### Reading List

Mihelcic, J.R., Zimmerman, J.B. (2014) Environmental Engineering: Fundamentals, Sustainability, Design [online], 2nd ed, John Wiley & Sons: Hoboken, available: https://ucd.summon.serialssolutions.com/2.0.0/link/0/eLvHCXMwY2AwNtIz0EUrEyyTU5IN01LMjUEVVKJ5mkGqmaVpUqqRYbKhUaJBKnhsJ9DM0dcyItg4GLFHDD6zm5yil5kKOm4B\_cK0-PigJCNg8WsG3kZtamEGStnuEaGIcRZgewZYy4MvCQLdPwfsEVhAj3qC80H1SnIKUr3iJsjAAtprIMTAlJonzMCNdDagCIOkK2ILWmKOQipCTpRBxs01xNlDF2haPHT4JR7mvAojMQbeRNCy9bwS8Pa2FAkGBZPEJENzYL4xNLUwNklNNUuyTDO3SAIGjmVyUqJpkoEkgyhWs6RwiEszcAFrdBPIGIEMA2saMA2nyoK9JwcOFwDIxm06.\
\
Mines, R.O. (2014) ‘Environmental Engineering: Principles and Practice ’, available: https://go.exlibris.link/jtMdNrgM.\

### When is this module offered?

**Timetabling information is displayed only for guidance purposes, relates to the current Academic Year only and is subject to change.**

|  |  |  |  |  |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Autumn | Lecture | Offering 1 | Week(s) - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12 | Mon 15:00 - 16:50 |

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