Sanitary Sewers and Wastewater Treatment Quiz

Answer: eight inches in diameter

Most sanitary sewer lines are eight inches in diameter. Yes, some are larger, but that is only because the lines downstream near the treatment plants transport more flow. Storm sewers, which collect and transport rain water, are much larger.

Answer: A small camera is put through the sewer, and when they find the problem area, they measure the distance from the manhole. That's where they dig.

Sewers are often televised. Some folks call the videos dirty movies.

Answer: Not necessarily; many rings have been found in the sewers and handed to the police

Rings valued at well over $70,000 have been found in sanitary sewers and never reclaimed. Never enter a sewer because the environment can be extremely hazardous. The air is typically too low in oxygen to support human breathing, and gases such as hydrogen sulfide and methane can develop to strong enough levels that you would die. Without strong ventilation, you would slowly lose consciousness, without even realizing it, pass out, and then finally, pass on.

Answer: A sewer that receives both sanitary sewage and storm water

Combined sewers are not allowed in most areas any longer. However, many old large cities have combined sewers. It's not cost-effective to treat rain water (storm water) as if it was waste water.

Answer: It passes through bar screens to remove large items

Common items removed by bar screens include Matchbox cars, dead pet turtles, etc. that can fit through a drain in your home. Sometimes kids throw larger things such as tree branches and car parts into manholes. Those things obviously need to be removed as well. These could cause damage to pumps.

Answer: Speed up the biological decomposition of waste in water

Chemicals are expensive and therefore, not heavily used to speed the biological decomposition of waste water. Instead, the focus tends to be towards maintaining a large healthy population of micro-organisms that need food and air. So air is typically blown into large waste water tanks so the micro-organisms can breath as they eat their "food".

Answer: They disinfect it with chlorine or ultraviolet light

Chlorination and ultraviolet light are currently the predominant types of disinfection provided.

Answer: Disease

Waste water treatment typically isn't on the top of the priority list when human beings first settle in an area. If it goes unchecked, sooner or later people will start to get sick with diseases such as typhoid, cholera, dysentery, polio, and hepatitis. Waste water treatment is the single reason large cities are able to exist.

Answer: Archimedes screw pumps

Yes, the inclined screw pump, commonly called Archimedes screw pumps, are still one of the most energy efficient pumps known to man today. Even though Archimedes name is associated with them, he didn't invent them. The Egyptians did, for land irrigation purposes. However, Archimedes did help improve them.

Answer: Yes, many plants offer tours through the year. Call first to schedule a tour.

The tours will surprise you! Don't be surprised if you walk away with a smile on your face with the feeling you learned a lot of useful things. Don't be surprised if you see large trucks, Archimedes screw pumps, entire systems run using computer networks and high end software programs that monitor everything, laboratory testing, and fertilizer for farmland or even your home. You'll be amazed with the speed and efficiency of the waste water treatment processes being used today.