fig1 illustrates an industrial separator and dewatering plant 10 used for processing an effluent 15 a ; see fig7 . components of plant 10 are supported within and attached externally to a structural enclosure 20 . locations of a plant : inlet 30 for receiving the effluent 15 a , effluent overflow outlets 40 , wash water pump 50 , outlet 60 for filtered water 15 b , and dewatering device 70 are shown . techniques for joining in - feed and out - feed conduits to elements 30 , 40 and 60 are well known in the art . fig2 a shows locations of a filter belt 80 supported by a bottom 205 and a top 210 rollers , the filter belt 80 being a fine mesh filter which has an upper belt portion 82 moving above a lower belt portion 84 . also shown are : filter cavity 85 within which filter belt 80 operates , spray wash nozzle ( s ) 90 , belt scraper 100 , solid matter collection basin 110 , auger 120 , collection manifold 130 , diverter panel 140 , and catch shelf 150 . effluent inlet 30 is shown at the left in fig2 a . fig2 b shows filter belt 80 as it moves around lower pulley 205 and carries effluent 15 a on upper belt portion 82 upwardly to the left with filtered water 15 b shown dripping through upper belt portion 82 onto diverter pan 170 and flowing through window 172 . a lower dam plate 174 prevents filtered water 15 b from reaching lower pulley 205 and lower belt portion 84 . an upper dam plate 176 is positioned to prevent incoming effluent 15 a , illustrated by a large arrow , from flowing past filter belt 80 . solid matter 15 c remains on and within upper belt portion 82 and is carried upwardly . fig3 shows locations of the diverter pan 170 which , for clarity , is not shown in fig2 a , framework ribs 180 which support upper belt portion 82 , and rubber gasket seals 190 and 192 which constrain filtered water 15 b so it can be secured without being contaminated by solid matter 15 a after passing onto pan 170 . portions of the enclosure 20 , the filter belt 80 , the filter cavity 85 , and also the wash water pump 50 and the filtered water outlet 60 are also shown in fig3 . fig4 shows locations of a cylindrical wire cage 200 , the top roller 210 which is shown in cross - section , a belt drive 220 for the filter belt 80 , an auger drive 230 , an auger overflow drain 240 for releasing wash water 15 d , a dewatering drain 250 for receiving wash water 15 d and extracted water 15 e , and a compression door 260 . fig4 also shows : the effluent overflow outlet 40 , filtered water collection basin 130 , filtered water outlets 60 , and belt scraper 100 . fig5 shows the dewatering device 70 with its compression door 72 and one of its engaging springs 74 . fig6 shows interior details of the dewatering device 70 including the wire cage 200 , auger 120 , and dewatering drain 250 . plant 10 separates and dewaters effluent 15 a entering plant 10 at inlet 30 . effluent 15 a may have a total suspended solids ( tss ) in the range of from about 100 to 2 , 000 mg / l . the effluent 15 a may be collected from a typical municipal sewage system which might have about 300 mg / l tss . effluent 15 a may also originate from any other industrial process or source . as shown in fig7 , trash , garbage and other materials usually found in an effluent drainage may be separated using a pre - filter 75 . downstream of pre - filter 75 effluent 15 a enters plant 10 at inlet 30 where it encounters diverter panel 140 dropping onto catch shelf 150 whereupon it spills onto filter belt 80 as shown in fig2 b . the diverter panel 140 and catch shelf 150 shown in fig2 direct the incoming effluent 15 a to filter belt 80 while absorbing most of its incoming kinetic energy . when the inflow of effluent 15 a is in excess of what belt 80 is able to accommodate , it flows out of effluent overflow outlets 40 shown in fig1 and into an overflow storage tank 85 shown in fig7 and may be returned to plant 10 later through inlet 30 . the filter belt 80 is made of a filter mesh material of a fineness selected for capturing a desired degree of the tss carried by effluent 15 a . once on filter belt 80 effluent 15 a drains by gravity through the top portion 82 of filter belt 80 and , as shown in fig2 , falls onto diverter pan 170 and from there into alleys 172 and collection manifold 130 to then leave plant 10 via outlets 60 as filtered water 15 b . gravity drainage continues during the entire time effluent 15 a rides on belt 80 , that is , as belt 80 moves upward . solid matter 15 c is left behind on and in filter belt 80 and comprises between 40 - 90 % of the tss of the effluent 15 a depending on the type and fineness of the filter material of which filter belt 80 is made . filter belt 80 moves continuously as an inclined rotating linear filter . both upper 82 and lower 84 portions of belt 80 may be planar and may move in parallel with each other in opposite directions and over spaced apart top roller 210 and bottom roller 205 ( fig2 a and 2b ). as belt 80 moves over top roller 210 some portion of solid matter 15 c may fall into collection basin 110 and therefore into auger screw 120 as best illustrated in fig2 . as belt 80 starts to move downward a high pressure low volume spray is delivered from one or more nozzles 90 against the inside of the lower belt portion 84 of belt 80 where further solid matter 15 c is washed into collection basin 110 . subsequently residue of the solid matter 15 c is dislodged by scraper 100 and falls also into collection basin 110 . solid matter 15 c and wash water 15 d is collected in auger screw 120 and conveyed thereby to the wire cage 200 as best shown in fig4 , and as described below . scraper 100 is in position to deflect overspray of wash water 15 d so that it enters collection basin 110 . solid matter 15 c and wash water 15 d are carried by auger screw 120 to the left in fig4 into wire cage 200 as described above , where wash water 15 d drains into dewatering drain 250 . solid matter 15 c is compacted by auger screw 120 where most of its water content 15 e is extracted . brushes 123 attached to , and extending outwardly from the flights of auger screw 120 keep the approximately 1 mm gaps between adjacent wires of the wire cage 200 clear so that extracted water 15 e may flow freely out of wire cage 200 and into dewatering drain 250 . overflow drain 240 , located at the right end of auger screw 120 in fig4 removes excess wash water 15 d within auger screw 120 when the level of such water rises high enough to flow around auger flights of auger screw 120 which keeps the screw 120 from flooding . with the water extraction step described above , solid matter 15 c is converted to a semi - solid consistency which passes out of plant 10 though door 72 when pressure within the wire cage 200 is sufficient to push open door 72 against tension springs 74 . the solid matter 15 c may have a water content of between only 50 % and 60 %. the auger screw 120 is mechanically rotated within auger trough 122 by an electric auger drive motor 230 , as shown in fig4 . a further drive 220 of belt 80 is also shown in fig4 . as shown , auger trough 122 is open above auger screw 120 so that solid matter 15 c and wash water 15 d may freely fall into it from belt 80 . wash water 15 d and extracted water 15 e may be jointly collected into a common manifold outside of plant 10 and may have between 1500 and 5000 mg / l tss . there are commercial uses for this water because of its high concentration of biological matter . embodiments of the subject apparatus and method have been described herein . nevertheless , it will be understood that various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and understanding of this disclosure . accordingly , other embodiments and approaches are within the scope of the following claims .