MODERNIZING
Wastewater Treatment Are the days of septic tanks and cesspools numbered? BY KELLI OAKLEY
H
ave you ever thought about where wastewater goes when you flush your toilet? We might hope that it flows into a large self-contained basin and is never released into the environment. But the truth is, wastewater eventually makes it back into our soil and waterways. The good news is that you can make a difference and thereby help our marine life. Here is a sort of gross fun fact: The average adult flushes about 320 pounds (145 kilograms) of waste down the toilet each year. Many people believe that their home is connected to a municipal sewer system, and a sewage treatment plant removes pollutants before effluent is released into the environment. While some modern sewage facilities offer state-of-theart filtration and treatment for cleaning wastewater, often, these plants are old and do not receive the maintenance they need. They also frequently experience combined storm and wastewater sewer overflows (CSOs) due to heavy rainfall or the inundation and infiltration (I&I) of storm and groundwater into sewer pipes that exceed treatment plant capacity. Elevated bacteria counts often are a result of these overflows when a mix of raw and treated wastewater enters waterways. Fecal coliform and enterococci threaten public health, mandating closures of beaches and recreational waterways, thus impacting the environment, the economy and our enjoyment of public waters. 92 | GuyHarvey.com
Even though sewage plants have myriad challenges, there are literally millions of Americans who are not connected to any sort of municipal treatment facilities at all. Waste instead flows into a cesspool or septic tank on their property, and they are nothing more than underground vaults that hold the untreated wastewater for a short time before releasing it directly into the ground. We are now seeing a whole host of problems stemming from our reliance on this Roman-era technology from harmful toxic algae blooms that decimate fish and shellfish populations and close beaches for swimming, to
the contamination of our underground drinking water. The impacts of septic tanks are apparent in coastal areas throughout the country, especially in places like the Florida Keys and Florida’s freshwater springs where homes and businesses are close to the water. The Keys consists of coral rock that is barely covered with topsoil with a limited capacity to absorb and contain wastewater. Protecting Florida’s freshwater springs has become a priority because wastewater that contains phosphorus, nitrogen and other nutrients and pollutants continues to pollute the groundwater moving through the karst rock formations.
