What Is Sewage: Everything You Need to Know

Sewage is the general term describing raw sewage and septic tank waste.

They can come in the form of wastewater consisting of urine and feces. There's also industrial wastewater and remains like sanitary towels, condoms, and plastics.

Excrement is one of the biggest sources of harmful microorganisms, such as bacteria, viruses, and parasites.

There are treatment plants that will lessen water content and separate the remains, but this will not eliminate all the pathogens.

So, they are NOT suitable to use as drinking water, as they can threaten human health.

Where Does Sewage Come From?

Wastewater is generated by people living in a certain community. The waste materials proceed from the houses through pipes, then into the sewers or sewer facility.

Wastewater generated from households, schools, and public establishments, is generally called domestic sewage.

There is also municipal sewage, a combination of wastewater from households and industrial establishments.

Municipal sewage can come from the toilet and kitchen sinks. It can also develop after cleaning filthy water with bacteria, cleaning agents, and chunks of food.

They are intended to be removed from the communities and recycled through a treatment plant.

It is relatively easier to break down pollutants with the aid of microorganisms. The concentration of nutrients can decrease with the help of certain bacteria.

Moreover, the sludges that are the outcomes of the treatment contain nutrients and organic compounds that are beneficial to the soil.

What Are the Main Causes of Sewage?

So you know that wastewater comes from households and public establishments, and they are present in our daily lives.

1. Toilets

Discharge from flushing the toilet is one of the main causes of wastewater.

More than the excrement, toilets become deposit banks of waste materials like sanitary waste and plastics that can clog the sewage and lead to toilets flooding.

The waste materials can end up blocking the waterways along the sewer lines. And congested rivers can stop flows because of stagnation.

So, it possesses harmful microorganisms and produces air pollutants caused by the spread of the foul smell from the sewer.

2. Cooking Fats

Your kitchen products contain fats and oil you can wash away in sinks.

These materials can build up at the walls of pipes and create coverings that can lessen the diameter of the pipe system, which happens to ditch wastewater into the sewers.

Consistent dumping of fats and grease in sinks can lead to total obstruction.

This is more harmful than the congestion caused by toilets, as no adequate cleaning can remove the coverings.

If they are not addressed, the clog may decompose and leak sewer gas into the house.

3. Overcapacity of Wastewater

Sewers are made to take in a particular volume of wastewater.

When there's excessive flow, it may be that the contractors link the sewage system of the building to the current sewer made for another residential building.

This can lead to the sewer overflowing, which, in turn, harms human health, causing bacterial and parasitic diseases such as typhoid and Hepatitis A.

Also, when the pipes are degraded and broken, sewer gas may leak into your homes.

4. Flooding

Flooding can also elevate wastewater.

Uncontrolled rain usually looks for a trail, so it seeps into the sewers and merges with wastewater, leading to added wastewater in the sewer.

For example, when the sewer volume is little, there's a possibility that the sewer system will not carry the growing volume of water, thus causing sewer pollution.

5. Inappropriate Management of Wastewater

This is one example of industrial wastewater, wherein industries utilize a large amount of water and dispose of most of it as wastewater.

Industries should treat the same water to be reused in industrial machinery.

Unfortunately, many industries with lenient policies discharge raw wastewater into the waterways without treatment.

People residing downstream will be the most affected by pollutants. Even the death of aquatic life can be blamed on releasing waste materials.

This can impede the regular activities of fish creatures in the area.

The discharge of ammonia, phosphorus, and nitrogen is toxic to plants, as they oxidize the oxygen present in the water, which results in the deprivation of oxygen to aquatic life.

Learn more at Conserve Energy Future.

How to Apply Proper Sewage Treatment

Treatment plants are a persistent method of eliminating contaminants from the wastewater and cleaning the removed contaminants into a product to form reusable water.

The main objective of wastewater treatment is to eliminate suspended materials before the effluent water is released.

When the solid materials decompose, it uses up oxygen, which is essential for the plants and fish living in the lakes, streams, and rivers.

What Are the Stages of Treatment?

The FIRST PHASE is collecting and pumping, which includes piped sewers from the communities and screening out huge objects.

The NEXT PHASE is where the preliminary treatment takes place. This is where the mud and sand are settled in a tank. Then the grit and screenings are carried out to landfills.

The PRIMARY TREATMENT will extract approximately 60% of the suspended solids from the wastewater. But it only extracts a few toxic chemical substances. Within the primary treatment, it will also include stirring up the wastewater to place the oxygen back in.
In the SECONDARY TREATMENT, the plants' oxygen is combined with the wastewater to accelerate the growth of microorganisms. This phase will separate more than 90% of the suspended solids.

What Are the Different Types of Sewage Water

Here are the different types of wastewater that you may encounter daily.

Waste Water

Wastewater derives from the habitual living process such as bathing, flushing toilets, and washing laundry and dishes.

Wastewater usually comes from residential and domestic origin.

Storm Water

Stormwater is a runoff from precipitation gathered from open channels.

Stormwater is usually in the form of rain and snow that settles on the rooftops, streets, and sidewalks. They also run into the local water bodies.

Grey Water

Greywater is like blackwater but without urine, feces, and food waste. It originated from the bathroom, sinks, and washing machines.

Though they contain chemicals and cleaning liquid, they are preferred to get recycled because it's not contagious.

Frequently Asked Questions

Here is additional information to help you know more about wastewater and sewers.

What Is an Onsite Sewage Facility?

It is a process of treating wastewater from households and establishments.

Its purpose is to reuse and release the wastewater back into the receiving environment.

They are commonly cited as septic systems, mainly involving a septic tank for partial treatment.

What Are the Harmful Effects of Sewage?

Population growth is a global concern that can contribute to the increase in wastewater, with the rising amount of chemical pollutants and remains from the consumer lifestyle.

This water pollution contributes to the rise in biological oxygen demand and is notorious for damaging aquatic life, agriculture, the environment, and human health.

If wastewater is not treated accordingly, its adverse impacts can threaten fish and wildlife, cause oxygen depletion, and contaminate drinking water.

Here are some kinds of pollutants present in wastewater that can pose a serious threat to agriculture and human health:

Decomposing organic matter exhausts the dissolved oxygen in lakes, so aquatic life cannot live.
Excessive nutrients like phosphorus, nitrogen, and ammonia can over-fertilize waters, lessen available oxygen, and harm aquatic habitats.
Bacteria and pathogens can contaminate the sea and shellfish populations.
Heavy metals such as mercury, lead, arsenic, cadmium, and chromium can negatively affect species.

Conclusion

Your community can treat wastewater and reuse it for household and industrial purposes.

The treatment process can be very helpful to communities, especially when the water supply is a huge concern.