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Throughout history, people have devised systems to make getting water into their communities and households and disposing of (and later also treating) wastewater more convenient. [1] The historical focus of sewage treatment was on the conveyance of raw sewage to a natural body of water, e.g. a river or ocean, where it would be diluted and ...
The term sewage treatment plant (STP) (or sewage treatment works) is nowadays often replaced with the term wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). [7] [8] Strictly speaking, the latter is a broader term that can also refer to industrial wastewater treatment. The terms water recycling center or water reclamation plants are also in use as synonyms.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that at least 23,000 to 75,000 SSO events occur in the United States each year. [1] EPA estimated that upgrading every municipal treatment and collection system to reduce the frequency of overflow events to no more than once every five years would cost about $88 billion as of 2004. [2]
The cost of sewerage - conventional or simplified - are always site-specific, and estimates are subject to controversies. Construction costs of simplified sewerage are up to half the costs of conventional sewerage. Investment cost savings come from various design features that may or may not be present in a particular simplified sewerage system.
The decision to build a combined sewer system or two separate systems is mainly based on the need for sewage treatment and the cost of providing treatment during heavy rain events. Many cities with combined sewer systems built their systems prior to installing sewage treatment plants, and have not subsequently replaced those sewer systems. [2]
An example of a wastewater treatment system. Sanitary engineering, also known as public health engineering or wastewater engineering, is the application of engineering methods to improve sanitation of human communities, primarily by providing the removal and disposal of human waste, and in addition to the supply of safe potable water.
Sewerage (or sewage system) is the infrastructure that conveys sewage or surface runoff (stormwater, meltwater, rainwater) using sewers. It encompasses components such as receiving drains , manholes , pumping stations , storm overflows, and screening chambers of the combined sewer or sanitary sewer .
The earliest known wastewater management system dates back to around 6500 BCE in present-day Syria, featuring sophisticated gutter systems and settling chambers. Ancient civilizations like the Roman Empire developed complex waste removal systems, including the Cloaca Maxima , which emptied into the Tiber River .