noun
- liquid waste or sewage discharged into a river or the sea
Usage: environmental science; plural form of effluent
Examples
- The factory was fined for releasing toxic effluents into the nearby stream.
- Municipal effluents must be treated before being discharged into waterways.
- Scientists monitored the river for harmful effluents from industrial plants.
- The new regulations limit the amount of effluents that can be released daily.
- Agricultural effluents containing fertilizers can cause algae blooms in lakes.
- The treatment plant processes effluents from thousands of homes each day.