The degree or intensity of heat present in a substance or object expressed according to a comparative scale and shown by a thermometer or perceived by touch.

Terra Preta (literally “black earth”) is the name for the highly fertile and carbon-rich soil which has been formed by pre-Columbian native populations by incorporating large amounts of charred residues (charcoal) into the soil together with nutrient-rich material (e.g. human and animal manure (rich in P and N), waste including mammal and fish bones (rich in P and Ca), ash residues of incomplete combustions (rich in Ca, Mg, K, P and charcoal), kitchen and garden waste etc.). The charcoal black carbon, due to its polycyclic aromatic structure, is chemically and microbiologically stable and persists in the environment over centuries. Over the time, the persistent black carbon molecules get partly oxidized produces carboxylic groups on the edges of the black carbon backbones which act as a trap for nutrients in the soil preventing them from being washed out. Terra preta has a large potential for preserving fertile soils and for carbon sequestration from the atmosphere as it acts as a long-term carbon sink.

Terra preta sanitation is the concept of reuse of organic wastes (e.g. garden and kitchen wastes, human faeces and urine) by producing highly fertile and long lasting terra preta soils in a four-step process: (1) collection, (2) lacto-fermentation, (3) addition of charcoal and vermicomposting, (4) incorporation of terra preta compost into soils.

Application of filtration processes for tertiary treatment of effluent.

Follows secondary treatment to achieve enhanced removal of residual suspended solids and other pollutants from effluent. Nutrient removal (e.g., phosphorus) and disinfection can be included in the definition of secondary treatment or tertiary treatment, depending on the configuration.

The Central Public Health and Environmental Engineering Organisation

Technology used for the conversion of chemical energy in the biogas into electricity. In principle the chemical energy of the combustible gases is converted to mechanical energy in a controlled combustion system. This mechanical energy then activates a generator to produce electrical power. Gas turbines and internal combustion engines are the most common thermal power plants used in this kind of energy conversion.

Thermophiles are organisms adapted to life at warm temperature.

See thermophile.

Composting is possible at high temperatures (thermophilic composting) and at low temperatures (ambient or mesophilic composting). Thermophilic composting is faster and more efficient to inactivate pathogens, but it requires specific optimal conditions to take place (moisture content of 50 to 60 %, C/N ratio of 30 to 35) and can therefore be difficult to manage.

Toilets are sanitation facilities at the user interface that allow the safe and convenient urination and defecation. Toilets can be combined with onsite storage and/or treatment and are then referred to as toilet systems such pit latrines, VIPs, UDDTs, composting toilet systems or terra preta toilet systems.

A toilet linked biogas plant is an anaerobic biogas digester which receives the excreta (and eventually flushing water) directly from a toilet through a pipe. The anaerobic biogas digester in that case is generally designed for the integrated treatment of toilet prodcuts, animal manure and kitchen and garden waste at the rural household.

Ensuring sustainability includes the conceptualising, planning and implementation of a project so that it is socially accepted, economically viable, environmentally sound, and durable.

The upper part of the soil, root zone.

Total coliforms include faecal and non faecal coliforms.

The total dissolved solids is the content of all inorganic and organic substances contained in a liquid in molecular, ionized or micro-granular (colloidal ) suspended form. Generally the operational definition is that the solids must be small enough to survive filtration through a sieve the size of two micrometers.

TKN is the total amount of organic and ammonia nitrogen.

Total nitrogen (mg/l). TN = TKN (ammonia + organic nitrogen) + NO2- + NO3-.

Total phosphorus (mg/l). Total phosphorus includes the amount of phosphorus in dissolved (reactive) and particle form. Phosphorous is a nutrient essential to the growth of organisms, and is commonly the limiting factor in the primary productivity of surface water. Wastewater is a typical source of phosphorus possibly contributing to the eutrophication of surface waters.

The Total Sanitation Campaign aims at improving the quality of life of people in rural areas through the creation of open-defecation-free and fully sanitised villages. The programme was launched in 1999. The campaign is designed as a demand-driven, community-led programme and is implemented by state governments. There is currently an emphasis on developing information, education and communication activities to improve attitudes and knowledge about how sanitation, safe water and hygiene relate to health. The campaign also acknowledges the role of subsidies in encouraging the poor to construct individual household latrines.

The residue that remains after filtering a water or sludge sample and drying it at 105°C (expressed in mg/L). It is the sum of Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) and Total Suspended Solids (TSS).

The total suspended solids correspond to the total solid particulate matter contained in water. They are generally removed by sedimentation and settling or floating. Suspended solids can lead to the development of sludge deposits and anaerobic conditions if untreated wastewater is discharged into the aquatic environment.

Total volatile solids are those solids that can volatise and be burned off when the total solids are ignited (500 +/- 50 °C).

Toxins are substances that can harm aquatic and human life. They are created by a wide variety of human practices and products like heavy metals, pesticides and organic compounds like PCB’s.

Tradable water rights are one of several market-based instruments used in water management and pollution control. In economic theory, they are increasingly seen as an efficient instrument for implementing environmental and natural resources management policies, even though they are among the most challenging means in terms of both their design and implementation.

Are you interested in becoming a trainer on Sustainable Sanitation and Water Management? Then check out the SSWM Train-the-trainers section, a specific module for trainers on how to carry out trainings and capacity development courses based on the SSWM Toolbox. You’ll learn everything you need to know to prepare, run and evaluate your own trainings: You’ll find briefs about pre-training preparations, learn more on the art of facilitation, including training methods, and know what you need to do after the training.

Transfer stations or underground holding tanks act as intermediate dumping points for faecal sludge when it cannot be easily transported to a (semi-) centralized treatment facility. A vacuum truck is required to empty transfer stations when they are full.

Sludge and septage emptied from on-site sanitation systems needs to be transferred to (semi-)centralised infrastructures for further treatment, reuse or appropriate discharge. Transfer stations or (sometimes called underground holding tanks) act as intermediate dumping points sludge when it cannot be easily transported to the treatment facility. A vacuum truck must empty transfer stations when they are full. Sewer discharge stations are similar to transfer stations, but instead of simply being a holding tank, the stations are connected to the sewer and can be legally accessed and used for discharging septage and sludge into the sewer so that it can be transported to a (semi-)centralised treatment facility. Thus, transfer and sewer discharge stations reduce transport distance, may encourage more community-level emptying solutions and prevent illegal dumping.

Water loss of the plant to the atmosphere through the plants stoma.

Water that has been chemically or biological polluted, but after having been treated is now safe to be reused or discharged to the environment.

Excreta disposal system especially suited for emergency situations. Shallow or deep trench latrines (from 15 to 200cm) are pit latrines with trenches instead of slabs and superstructure. They can be arranged as simple trench latrines or as multiple trench latrines. In the latter case they are an improvement of an open defecation field. They should be at a distance of 15-30m from any groundwater source and the bottom of any latrine at least 1.5m above the water table. Latrines should be backfilled when full to within 0.2m from the slab.

A trickling filter is a fixed-bed, biological reactor that operates under (mostly) aerobic conditions. Pre-settled wastewater is continuously ‘trickled’ or sprayed over the filter made out of rocks, gravel, plastic modules. As the water migrates through the pores of the filter, organics are degraded by the biofilm covering the filter material.

THMs are chemical compounds in which three of the four hydrogen atoms of methane (CH4) are replaced by halogen atoms. They are environmental pollutants and are known to be carcinogenic. Disinfection of drinking water with chlorine can cause the formation of THM if organic matter (THM precursors) is present. See also DBPs.

Turbidity is a measure of the degree to which the water loses its transparency due to the presence of suspended particulates.

A turbine is a machine which transforms the kinetic energy of fluids (a liquid or a gas) into a rotation energy. A water turbine for instance uses the flow of a river to produce rotation energy and run a generator.

A sanitation technology consisting of two alternating pits connected to a pour flush toilet. The blackwater (and in some cases greywater) is collected in the pits and allowed to slowly infiltrate into the surrounding soil. Over time, the solids are sufficiently dewatered and can be manually removed with a shovel.

"Typhoid and paratyphoid fevers are infections caused by bacteria which are transmitted from faeces through ingestion. Clean water, hygiene and good sanitation prevent the spread of typhoid and paratyphoid. Contaminated water is one of the pathways of transmission of the disease.
Typhoid fever is a bacterial infection of the intestinal tract and bloodstream. Symptoms can be mild or severe and include sustained fever as high as 39°-40° C, malaise, anorexia, headache, constipation or diarrhoea, rose-coloured spots on the chest area and enlarged spleen and liver. Most people show symptoms one to three weeks after exposure. Paratyphoid fever has similar symptoms to typhoid fever but is generally a milder disease."