Water gets to the sewer through a network of interconnected pipes that start inside your home and connect to a larger public system.
Here's how the journey happens, typically from your sink or toilet to the main sewer line:
The Path from Your Home
Every time you flush a toilet, take a shower, or drain a sink, the water that goes down the drain is called wastewater. This wastewater doesn't just disappear; it follows a specific path through your property and into the municipal sewer system.
Inside Your House
- Individual Drains: Each drain (from toilets, sinks, showers, bathtubs, washing machines, etc.) has its own pipe.
- Combining Pipes: These individual pipes from all the drains in your house connect and combine into a single, larger pipe. Think of it like small streams joining together to form a larger creek.
Leaving Your Property
- House Lateral: The single large pipe that collects all the wastewater from inside your house exits the building, typically underground, and leads to a larger pipe located in the street or easement near your property line. This pipe is often called the "house lateral" or "service lateral."
Joining the Neighborhood System
- Street Lateral: The pipe in the street or easement collects wastewater not only from your house lateral but also from your neighbors' house laterals. This pipe serves a block or a small section of properties.
- Larger Pipes: As more and more street laterals collect water, they connect to even larger pipes in the neighborhood. This network of increasingly larger pipes is designed to handle the growing volume of wastewater.
Reaching the Main Sewer
- Trunk Sewers/Interceptors: These larger pipes eventually connect to the main wastewater sewer system. These main sewers, often called trunk sewers or interceptors, are massive underground pipes that collect wastewater from entire neighborhoods or even larger areas of a city. They are typically buried deeper underground and follow downhill paths, often utilizing gravity to move the wastewater.
Here’s a simplified view of the hierarchy of pipes:
| Pipe Type | Location | Collects From | Leads To |
|---|---|---|---|
| Individual Drain | Inside house | Single fixture (sink, toilet, etc.) | House Drainage System |
| House Lateral | From house to street/easement | All drains in one house | Street Lateral |
| Street Lateral | Street/Easement | Multiple House Laterals (from neighbors) | Larger Collector Pipes or Main Sewer |
| Collector Pipes | Under streets | Multiple Street Laterals | Main Wastewater Sewer System |
| Main Wastewater Sewer | Underground (large) | Wastewater from neighborhoods/sections of a city | Wastewater Treatment Plant |
This integrated system ensures that wastewater is efficiently collected from numerous sources and channeled towards a central location for treatment before being released back into the environment.
