AquaKlear

Watch What You Put Down the Drain

Posted on 10. Dec, 2009 by Marty in Sewage Treatment Systems

This is a monthly column by John F. Bradley, the municipal separate storm sewer system coordinator for Shepherdsville, Kentucky.

Do you think about where the water goes when you flush a toilet?

What you flush affects the streams and rivers in our local watersheds, which is why people should be cognizant of what goes down the drain, especially during this time of year.

With the onset of the holiday season, when families are visiting one another and creating more organic and household waste, think about what your household sends to a wastewater treatment plant on a daily basis. And more guests only increase the gallons sent to a treatment plant.

When the wastewater flushed from toilets and drained from household sinks, washing machines and dishwashers leaves the home, it flows through your community’s sanitary sewer system to a wastewater treatment facility. The wastewater is treated by the facility to reduce and remove pollutants.

Wastewater treatment facilities are designed to treat organic waste, not hazardous chemicals.  You can help by not putting household grease (meat fats, cooking oil, butter and margarine), diapers or other personal products down drains. These materials clog pipes and cause sewage to overflow in homes, yards and public areas.

Don’t pour household products such as cleansers, beauty products, medicine, auto fluids, paint and lawn-care products down the drain.  Used motor oil can diminish the effectiveness of the treatment process and could allow the contaminants to be discharged into waterways.

Other major problems include infiltration of rainwater through old, decaying sewer lines and cracks around manhole covers, plus tree roots entering old sewer lines, which cause the treatment process to work harder than it should during wet weather.  When this process occurs, it leads to a blockage, causing an overflow that is harmful to both health and property. 

What is important to note is that households that have on-site sewage treatment systems, such as septic tanks and aerobic treatment units, are much more susceptible to these types of problems than municipal systems.  It is very important to follow these suggestions, especially during high use times, to insure that your system has the best opportunity to operate correctly. 

Tags: aerated treatment units, ATU’s, home sewage treatment units, maintenance, on-site sewage treatment, onsite septic systems, septic tanks, sewage