Prevent Sewage Pollution in your neighborhood

The waste water that flows after being used for domestic, industrial and other purposes is termed as sewage water. Today Sewage pollution is a big problem in cities. About 2.3 billion people in the world suffer from diseases that are linked to water. The poor management of sewage treatment and dumping untreated waste is threatening the lives of thousands of poor people.

Sewage pollution gets into our local creeks when it escapes the sewage system due to overflow, spill or crack in sanitary sewer collection system. Sewage pollution carries Pathogenic protozoa such as Giardia and Cryptosporium that are a risk to human health. Using contaminated sewage for fertilizer can result in epidemics of such diseases as cholera. India has over 300 sewage treatment plants, most are underutilized and poorly positioned. We should first look at effectively treating our waste water and prevent sewage effluence from getting into our neighboring stream.

Cause of Sewage water pollution

Sewage water pollution is one of the major problems in cities. Improper handling of waste water is the main reason behind the pollution of water. The careless disposal of sewage water leads to a chain of problems, such as spreading of diseases, eutrophication, increase in Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD), etc. Following are important causes of Sewage water pollution.

• Overflow, spill, or release of raw or partially-treated sewage from a sanitary sewer collection system.
• Pipes are blocked by tree roots, grease and debris in sewage.
• The private or public sewer lines are cracked.

• An aging sewer infrastructure also increases the occurrence and severity of overflows.
• Storm flows received may be in excess of system capacity which can result in overflows from the sewerage pipe network.
• Overflows caused by rainwater getting into the sewer through faults in pipes or illegal connections, exceeding the capacity of the system.
• Poorly fitting cracked or broken inspection holes on the mains sewer system can let water into the sewerage system.

Impacts of Sewage water in environment

• Use of untreated sewage water pose a high risk to human health and other living organisms.
• Wastewater contain salts that may accumulate in the root zone with possible harmful impacts on soil health and crop yields.
• Wastewater application has the potential to affect the quality of groundwater resources in the long run through excess nutrients and salts.
• When drainage water drains particularly into water bodies and surface water the remains of nutrients may cause eutrophication.
• Natural resource concerns such as pollution of vital water resources, loss of fish, wildlife, exotic species, etc.

Steps to Prevent Sewage Pollution in your neighborhood

Sewer overflows and backups can cause health hazards, damage home interiors, and threaten the environment. Sewage pollution gets into our local creeks when it escapes the sewage system. Following steps helps you to reduce sewer overflow in your apartment or neighborhood.

• Tree roots can invade even the smallest cracks in pipes. Tree roots can block the pipes causing sewers to backup and overflow. Careful thought needs to be given to the location of thirsty trees.
• Use basket/strainers in sinks to catch food scraps and empty them into trash for disposal.
• Cracked pipes have to be repaired or replaced.
• Broken sewer pipes not only let stormwater in, they can also allow untreated waste to enter the soil and create unhealthy conditions. If you suspect broken pipes, have your system inspected by a licensed plumber.
• Stormwater downpipes are not allowed to be connected to the sewerage system. The effect of doing so is overflows of diluted raw sewage further down the system. This is a major cause of sewer overflows.
• People pouring grease down sewer lines are other common reasons for sewage overflows. Never pour grease down sink drains or into toilets.
• Using contaminated sewage for fertilizer can result in epidemics of such diseases as cholera. These diseases can even become chronic where clean water supplies are lacking.

Disclaimer: The article contains data collected from various sources and the use of same is at readers discretion.