Every time you flush your toilet, wash clothes, or empty something down the drain you create wastewater or, to us in the business, sewage. A question that people sometimes pose is, “Why can I not simply dump this wastewater outside someplace?” There are three main reasons why waste water is harmful to the environment and thus three main reasons why we cannot do this.
One reason is that it stinks! Things tend to get very smelly very fast when wastewater is dumped directly outside. This is due in part to reason two. Wastewater contains solids and other chemicals that influence the environment. Organic material that is contained in wastewater gets broken down by bacteria within the environment. This decomposition causes the smelly odor associated with wastewater.
Wastewater also contains nitrogen and phosphates that trigger the growth of algae in lakes and streams. Excessive algae growth can block sunlight and pollute water. Suspended solids make water appear murky and can affect how well fish and other aquatic animals can breath and see. Eventually wastewater will destroy a lake or streams ability to support life.
Reason number three is wastewater contains harmful bacteria. Human waste naturally has coliform bacteria (ex. E. coli) and other bacteria that can cause deadly diseases. If this bacteria reaches a water source (such as your drinking well) the results can be fatal over a large area. Children who play outside are at an even greater risk. As they may come in direct contact with any contaminates in the area.
In order to ensure that such things do not happen to our environment we have wastewater treatment plants, septic systems, as well as laws and regulations that prohibit the dumping of raw wastewater directly into the environment.