May be a sick question, but do you know how we take care of wastes after they are flushed from toilet? Do they go to Pacific or Atlantic ocean?
2006-10-21 03:31:30 · 8 answers · asked by H3erq 1 in Health ➔ Other - Health
Does this mean that at least some of the water coming out of water faucets in our bathroom came out of our kidney?
2006-10-21 03:37:40 · update #1
If you live out in a rural area they go into a septic tank where they mostly rot away the solids but the liquid part goes through below-surface perforated pipes to pass into the soil of your yard. Every few years those wastes are pumped out by a contractor who takes them to the waste treatment plant for disposal.
The most usual is that the waste flows through sewer pipes to a waste treatment plant. there it is screened to get out floating plastic chunks, skimmed so that the liquids can be treated separately, and then the solids are treated to make them separate from the liquids. The solids can be degraded biologically (equiavalent to a compost pile) and then dried for farm fertilizer or to be put into a landfill. The liquids are treated with a small or a large amount of germ killers (depending on regulations for that area) and usually pumped out into a river or the ocean.
When the liquids go into a river with extra treatment they are often pumped from that river into the water supply for the next town downstream. That town does filter and clarify the water and add lots of germ killers and chemical removers.
Let's face it there is only a certain amount of usable water on the earth and used water goes somewhere for re-use.
2006-10-21 03:40:51 · answer #1 · answered by Rich Z 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Two things can happen.
1) It goes to a home septic system that has bacteria that breaks down the waste and spreads it through a leach field that make the waste harmless (and good lawn fertilizer)
2) They go to a waste treatment plant that also break down the waste to a safe point, then released to a river or lake. The waste stream is monitored extensively to be sure its harmless.
Your other question: No. Incoming water is treated and is cleaned of any harmful bacteria.
2006-10-21 10:43:14 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Talk to the city where you are. They may just put sewage into the ocean, but most places cant do that. They have a sewage treatment plant where the sewage is treated and made ready to be put back in the water.
2006-10-21 12:51:26 · answer #3 · answered by Buzz s 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Usually they get processed either in a treatment plant or septic tank, and recycled back into the environment. That is where fertilizer and water comes from.... recycled waste.
2006-10-21 10:35:27 · answer #4 · answered by Clown Knows 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
they go to a sewage treatment plant, where they are settled out and treated in various ways, then the the residue goes to a landfill, the treated water can be used for irrigation.
2006-10-21 10:34:30 · answer #5 · answered by David B 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
nope up here it goes to septic tank where solid go to bottom and liquid gets pumped to leech field where it goes thought filters and into the soil. then every 3 years have solids pumped out of tank and taken away..
2006-10-21 10:36:23 · answer #6 · answered by samshel1 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
it goes to a special processing plant, where poop eating bacteria is put into it and changes it into drinking water,
2006-10-21 10:33:18 · answer #7 · answered by rich2481 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
very confusing point. look into from yahoo. just that can help!
2014-11-03 23:31:56 · answer #8 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋