Here’s What We Know About Where Your Household Plumbing Waste Goes
Household plumbing is one of the modern conveniences people often take for granted, especially when it comes to their toilets!
It may not be very pleasant to think about the plumbing waste going down in your toilet, or what happens to it after you flush, but it is very interesting how modern sewage treatment works!
Understanding how your drains work also makes clear the importance of sewer (or drain) cleaning.
If You Have a Septic Tank
If you have a septic tank, chances are you live in a rural area, or in a tiny house or mobile home.
Septic tanks are an excellent option for treating your sewage without having to be connected to the main sewer line. How do they work?
First, waste runs from your drainage line into the tank, where it is stored while the solid waste separates (forming the sludge at the bottom of the tank and scum at the top) from the water.
Next, the wastewater passes through a filter on its way out of the tank and into the drain field. In the drain field, soil accepts the wastewater and treats it naturally, returning it to groundwater.
If You Use The Public Sewer System
If your home is connected to the public sewer system, then your waste flows to the sewer lines that usually run down the center of your street, to a city-wide water treatment plant.
Here, sewage undergoes a series of treatments. The process usually goes like this:
- Just like in a septic tank, wastewater is separated from solid waste, and waste is collected for disposal.
- Wastewater passes into an aeration tank where micro bacteria eats up any bacteria or nutrients that remain in the water.
- Hazardous elements like phosphorus and nitrogen are removed, usually by chemicals added to the water. Chlorine is often also added to kill any bacteria that may remain.
Other Kinds of Waste Disposal
In a public water treatment plant, you will likely find an aeration tank that is electrically run.
The tank might have an electric rotating disk, or electric pumps to spray the water out, or even electric air blowers to blow bubbles up through the water.
Cesspools are similar to septic tanks in that sewage drains into the tank from your home and is held there while the water separates from solid waste.
In a cesspool, however, the water drains out of the "tank" (really just a pit in the ground surrounded by brick, porous stone, or concrete blocks) directly into the soil.
While cesspools are significantly cheaper to install than septic tanks, they require more cleaning and maintenance and pose a threat of contamination to surrounding groundwater.
Most public sewage systems are what are known as gravity drains. All that means is that the sewage runs mostly downhill along a series of pipes, toward the treatment plant.
If the sewage reaches a point where it needs to travel uphill for a time, the system might employ lifting or pumping stations to push the wastewater to where it needs to go.
No matter what kind of sewer system your home uses, sewers keep our homes safe and sanitary. That’s why it is imperative to take good care of your drains and sewers.
Call Bud’s Plumbing today at (812) 618-9638 to speak with a professional in Evansville about sewer and drain cleaning.
