|
|
Article: Septic System Impacts
- Article from:
- Water:Science and Issues
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 The Gale Group Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
Septic System Impacts
When a toilet is flushed in a town or city, the wastewater flows through sewer pipes and eventually ends up at a treatment plant.
Microorganisms
that could be harmful to human health or the environment are removed from the water before it is released. But if a toilet is flushed outside of a municipality, such as in a rural area or in an otherwise unsewered region, where does the wastewater go, and how is it treated? Most rural homes and businesses have a septic system buried underground to treat their wastewater.
Components
Septic systems (as shown in Figure 1) use four main components: