Sewage systems must be built to code in most jurisdictions across America. There are a few exceptions that are in very remote locations. Places like the middle of Alaska don’t have sewer regulations and most people have outhouse still, because there is not running water type of facilities available in that context.
There are also incinerating types of toilets that heat human waste to a high temperature, so it is essentially sterile and turned to ash. While it may sound gross, humane fecal waste only smells when it is moist still. Once the waste is dry, it loses its odor.
Raw sewage refers to untreated, still wet, waste matter. Raw sewage can be a breeding ground for bacteria, disease, and mosquitoes that will readily spread the germs and bacteria. Malaria can be spread in this manner. Unsanitary conditions around the world still kill humans daily. Developed countries, however, have codes and regulations for how sewage is to be handled.
What Is A System to Deal with Waste by Regulations?
A proper sewage system is going to move waste away from the home in a safe manner, like enclosed plumbing. Once the waste leaves your home, it is going to do one of two things. If you are hooked to city water and sewer systems, then the waste matter is going to be traveling through a very large system of pipes that run underground to a waste treatment facility. At these facilities, the waste is treated with filtration systems and some modern methods that can even include using special lights that remove and kill bacteria. Once the water is properly treated and the wastes are removed, it is recirculated back into city water systems.
The other possible method for ridding your home of human waste is to have it routed out via the same sort of plumbing an into a septic tank system. The septic tank is a large container that could be made of cement or plastic. It is buried in the ground at least one hundred feet from your home, most of the time. The solid wastes will drop to the bottom of the tank and be devoured by bacteria until completely broken up and eventually flushed out of the tank into a drain field that is made up of a flexible pipe that has perforations in it. This allows the water to slowly leach out into the gravel that is placed underneath of the drain field when it is constructed. The idea is that it will very slowly go back into the groundwater table after it is strained through the soil, naturally filtering itself so that by the time it is pumped back to the surface through someone’s well pump, it will be clean drinkable water again. The earth is quite an amazing filtration system when it is allowed the time it needs to do its work. The cost of this type of sewage treatment system can cost anywhere from $3000 to $10,000, depending on where you live and the regulations in place.
