title: Predicting the sound power and impact of a wastewater treatment plant.
abstract: Several process units at a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) can produce a significant level of sound and thus induce sound nuisance for nearby residents. The risk for sound nuisance should be considered by making a prognosis of sound impact in an early project phase (planning, design). A prognosis requires information with respect to the sound characteristics of the different process units. This paper reports the development of empirical models for the sound power of relevant process units in the water line at Aquafin WWTPs. The used methodology for model derivation and validation allowed us to minimize the required number of measurements. Besides the methodology, the paper describes in detail the derivation and validation of the empirical model for the splashing water of screw pumps. Also the use of all the derived empirical models to determine the sound impact of a wastewater treatment plant at close distance is illustrated with a case-study.
authors.affiliation: Aquafin NV, Aartselaar, Belgium.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: De Heyder
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ockier
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Jansen
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Huiberts
mesh_terms: D003258:Consumer Behavior; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D005160:Facility Design and Construction; D005544:Forecasting; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D009622:Noise; D018570:Risk Assessment; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid; D014872:Water Movements