Month: November 2025

Lateral Sewer Lines

Lateral Sewer Lines

11/21/2025

“What pipe connects houses to the municipal sewer system?”

Connecting a building to a municipal sewer system is one of the most common ways to implement high-quality sanitary access. Lateral Sewer Lines, or sewer pipes that extend from a building’s waste system to a municipal sewer main, are an excellent way to accomplish a home-to-sewer connection. Lateral sewer lines are typically located on private property, requiring the owners to assume responsibility for theirmaintenance. Laterals are tyoically sloped downwards to transport waste through gravity, and can become clogged by tree roots, grease, and other factors.

Image credit: https://seadmokwater.com/

Solids Residence Time (SRT)

Solids Residence Time (SRT)

11/20/2025

“How can we measure how long on average microorganisms spend in a wastewater reactor?”

Microorganisms are the backbone of wastewater reactors. These microscopic solids work hard to clean incoming wastewater to suitable environmental levels. But these pieces of biomass only have a limited amount of time in the reactor as solids are ejected from the treatment system. The average amount of time a microorganism spends in the reactor, known as the Solids Residence Time, is equal to the total biomass within the system divided by the exit flow rate of biomass. We can represent this relationship with the formula SRT = Total Volume of Biomass/(Waste rate of biomass + Effluent rate of biomass). A low SRT indicates a reactor is quickly cycling through biomass, which leads to a mostly young bacteria, while a high SRT has the opposite properties.

Why You Should Consider Disconnecting Your Downspout From the Sewer System

Why You Should Consider Disconnecting Your Downspout From the Sewer System

11/19/25

“Why should you consider disconnecting your downspout from the sewer system?”

Downspouts carry water from rooftop gutters to the ground. Many homes have their downspouts connected to the sewer system by default. In combined sanitary sewer areas, this means that rain that falls on rooftops will enter the same pipes that carry sanitary waste. During rainstorms, the amount of water entering sewer lines from downspouts may be so large that it overwhelms the system, resulting in a combined sewer overflow event. If you own a building, you can reduce the chance of CSO occurrence by disconnecting your downspout and directing it to infiltrative material. Not only will the sewers get less overwhelmed, but this opens the opportunity to provide much-needed water to your own vegetation. This is Why You Should Consider Disconnecting Your Downspout From the Sewer System.

Downspouts

Downspouts

11/18/2025

“How can we use pipes to channel water away from the roof gutters of buildings?”

Water piles up on roofs during rain events. Gutters are installed on roofs to channel water away. To avoid buildup in the gutters, people can install Downspouts, pipes connected to gutters to allow water to move away into safer areas such as sewers or a retention basin. Downspouts are a simple yet effective method to prevent building damage.

Adopt a Catch Basin Programs

Adopt a Catch Basin Programs

11/17/25

“How can neighborhood residents take care of their local catch basins?”

Catch basins accumulate debris underneath and on top of their grating. If this mess is left uncleaned, then floods may pile up, and the inside of pipes may become less functional. While it takes advanced equipment to clean underneath the grating, sweeping away debris from the top is very straightforward. Municipal governments have established Adopt a Catch Basin Programs to invite residents to routinely clean the catch basins in their neighborhoods. Residents may be assigned a particular catch basin to clear. Adopt a catch basin programs go a long way to make neighborhoods healthier and more resilient to climate change.

Image credit: https://portal.311.nyc.gov/

Interceptor Sewers

Interceptor Sewers

11/16/2025

“What are the main arteries of sewers?”

Sewer lines are categorized into different classes to serve different functions. The sewer lines that transports water from several pipes to wastewater treatment facilities have the largest diameters are called Interceptor Sewers. Interceptor sewers are typically driven by gravity and help communities comply with environmental regulations.

Image credit: https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/

Does Catch Basin Cleaning Have an Effect on CSO Events?

Does Catch Basin Cleaning Have an Effect on CSO Events?

11/15/25

“Does catch basin cleaning have an effect on CSO events?”

Does Catch Basin Cleaning Have an Effect on CSO Events? The main benefit cleaning catch basins provides is removing debris/sediment that can get caught in sewer pipes and equipment, increasing the area for stormwater flow, and strengthening capacity against CSO events. However, adopting a catch basin and keeping it clear may not reduce CSO impact if it’s in a CSS area. In fact, it may lead to a larger CSO event if there since more water will enter the sewerage system.

Catch basin maintenance is more important for flood control and long-term care of CSS infrastructure rather than CSO reduction. According to this report from Atlanta, infrastructure operators should identify areas with basins that generate high amounts, and develop a schedule to clean those areas on a more frequent basis.

Image credit: https://graysonseweranddrain.com/

Check Dams

Check Dams

11/14/25

“How can we prevent erosion using structures that slow down water flow?”

Water flowing too fast in a specific area can lead to erosion. We can slow water down to prevent erosion, not only by removing harsh friction but also by allowing sediment to settle and replenish eroded gullies. Slower water also has more time to infiltrate and recharge groundwater levels. So what if we create miniature dams that impede the flow of water to moderate velocity and achieve sedimentation control? Well, this is the idea behind Check Dams. Check dams are a foundational part of erosion and stormwater management. Infrastructure designers can implement check dams in water quality swales to achieve synergy across both interventions. Check dams are usually implemented in channels or swales instead of live streams. It’s recommended to not build check dams in high-slope environments since the velocities of the incoming water may be too high for check dams to handle effectively.

Image credit: https://stormwater.pca.state.mn.us/

Wet Swales

Wet Swales

11/13/2025

“How do we categorize water quality swales that are saturated for most of the time?”

Water quality swales come in many different sizes. Dry swales are dry for most of the time, but there are also Wet Swales that remain saturated for most of the time. Wet swales are built into existing swales and store stormwater runoff within a collection of cells inside the channel. This setup can lead to conditions similar to those found in wetlands. Managers usually implement wet swales to treat and convey stormwater runoff, but not infiltration since they’re not designed for infiltration.

Image credit: https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/