The biggest problem can be the smallest thing, and that's the case in the sewer world.
More than 20 million gallons of raw sewage spilled into California waterways last year, according to the state Department of Water Resources Control Board. That's not counting the partially treated sewage that makes its way into our water from overflows and sewer system malfunctions.
Many big sewer pipes are old, and many of the sewage treatment plants are antiquated. But the biggest problem faced by sewer systems in California is the tiny pipe called the lateral.
That's the pipe that runs from your home to the street, the small pipes under all of our homes that end up joining the bigger sewer pipes. When those pipes develop cracks, water leaks into them.
Storm water itself would not overwhelm a sewage system, because it's designed to be a closed system. Storm water is not supposed to BE in sewer pipes. So in one way, it shouldn't even matter what the weather is like – storm water shouldn't really mix with sewage at all.
But during a rainstorm, water seeps into your broken lateral pipe, and all your neighbors' pipes, and that rainwater mixes with sewage in the sewer pipes, and the volume of water/sewage can actually build up far beyond the capacity of the sewer pipe. And in the same way, thousands and thousands of gallons of water mixed in with the sewage can swamp a treatment plant during a rainstorm.
That's the number one concern of sewage treatment plants now. And the sewer districts need your help.
Those laterals are owned by homeowners. They're on private land, so the district can't just go in there and tear them up to replace or fix them.
However, most sewer districts offer a service where they will inspect your laterals to check for leaks, and many have started programs where the district will help pay the cost of repairing or replacing those pipes.
Sewer systems are run by local municipalities. Most communities have a local sewer district, and officials at the district can help you inspect and fix your lateral pipes.
link:http://www.kqed.org/quest/blog/2009/04/03/reporters-notes-sewage-spills-increasing/
I feel this story ties into our Media saves the beach project because it is talking about sewage spills and how they happen and how they can be prevented, today our class got to witness an sewage spill and we saw the various warning signs about the contaminated water and how they life guards were warning the sufers to get out. This type of information can be found anywhere and I feel as a class we can make this issue known and get people (homeowner's) to fix thier lateral pipes which are the problem with sewage spills into the ocean. This can help because over time those pipes get old obviously and crack, break, and leak and when it rain our sewage flows into the ocean whether we know it or not
More than 20 million gallons of raw sewage spilled into California waterways last year, according to the state Department of Water Resources Control Board. That's not counting the partially treated sewage that makes its way into our water from overflows and sewer system malfunctions.
Many big sewer pipes are old, and many of the sewage treatment plants are antiquated. But the biggest problem faced by sewer systems in California is the tiny pipe called the lateral.
That's the pipe that runs from your home to the street, the small pipes under all of our homes that end up joining the bigger sewer pipes. When those pipes develop cracks, water leaks into them.
Storm water itself would not overwhelm a sewage system, because it's designed to be a closed system. Storm water is not supposed to BE in sewer pipes. So in one way, it shouldn't even matter what the weather is like – storm water shouldn't really mix with sewage at all.
But during a rainstorm, water seeps into your broken lateral pipe, and all your neighbors' pipes, and that rainwater mixes with sewage in the sewer pipes, and the volume of water/sewage can actually build up far beyond the capacity of the sewer pipe. And in the same way, thousands and thousands of gallons of water mixed in with the sewage can swamp a treatment plant during a rainstorm.
That's the number one concern of sewage treatment plants now. And the sewer districts need your help.
Those laterals are owned by homeowners. They're on private land, so the district can't just go in there and tear them up to replace or fix them.
However, most sewer districts offer a service where they will inspect your laterals to check for leaks, and many have started programs where the district will help pay the cost of repairing or replacing those pipes.
Sewer systems are run by local municipalities. Most communities have a local sewer district, and officials at the district can help you inspect and fix your lateral pipes.
link:http://www.kqed.org/quest/blog/2009/04/03/reporters-notes-sewage-spills-increasing/
I feel this story ties into our Media saves the beach project because it is talking about sewage spills and how they happen and how they can be prevented, today our class got to witness an sewage spill and we saw the various warning signs about the contaminated water and how they life guards were warning the sufers to get out. This type of information can be found anywhere and I feel as a class we can make this issue known and get people (homeowner's) to fix thier lateral pipes which are the problem with sewage spills into the ocean. This can help because over time those pipes get old obviously and crack, break, and leak and when it rain our sewage flows into the ocean whether we know it or not
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