Do you know where your shit goes?

[jberryhill]

For those of you who do not have your own septic system, but are hooked into a sewer system...

Serious question:

Do you know, as you sit here right now, where your shit goes after you flush the toilet?

And I mean specifically, so that if I handed you a map, you could point to a spot on it and say, "My shit goes here!"

And, if you do know, do you know how it gets there? How many other people's shit goes there? And what happens to it there?

[Logical]

1. No, but interesting question! n-t

[jberryhill]

12. Isn't it?

I'll add one on top of it - does it get there using a private company, and taken care of by one? Or is some government responsible for it?

It's an absolutely vital and necessary function of civilized living, and in your memory has your shit ever failed to go wherever it is that it disappears to?

[Major Nikon]

2. I'm pretty sure it goes downhill

[jberryhill]

14. Are you really sure?

There is a straight downhill run to wherever it goes? It never needs to be pumped up at any point?

[Major Nikon]

35. The water treatment facility that serves my area is 100' lower in elevation

So yes, I'm pretty sure there are no lift stations needed for my area.

Wastewater treatment facilities are generally placed at the lowest point in elevation for the area they serve. Lift stations are used occassionally to go over hills, but for the most part they work by gravity.

[Tx4obama]

3. I heard someone say that NSA is collecting it all, then they do analysis on it to see what everyone

is eating

[Adsos Letter]

6. LOL!

[lonestarnot]

15. Someone must be because there was a report made with regard to drugs getting into drinking water due

to all the pissing of these drugs into the sewer system done not too long ago. So we are all apparently slurping up these prescription society's drugs in the drinking water. I was appalled after having read the information.

[customerserviceguy]

40. Ridiculous

They're only keeping metapoop.

[FSogol]

44. Duzy!

[octoberlib]

4. Lol. No and I don't want to know. nt

[jberryhill]

9. It wouldn't be near where you live, then?

What sort of people do you suppose might live near where your shit goes?

[Adsos Letter]

5. "The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing."

I know where my shit goes.

[BeyondGeography]

7. It's stored in packets and analyzed by Mormons in Utah

Dummy.

[Rex]

8. Really I have no idea why you are asking, but yes I do know.

I know where the towns shit goes and what happens to it.

[struggle4progress]

10. yep

[Journeyman]

11. Twenty-five years providing graphics for water and wastewater systems & research institutions. . .

throughout the U.S. and in more than a dozen foreign lands, I suspect I have an inkling of where it goes.

You could say, I've got it together, and I help countless others get theirs together as well.

[jberryhill]

18. I salute you

Does it bother you that your contribution to society is something that most people never give a second thought to?

[Journeyman]

33. Not in the least. . .

The majority of what I do is directed toward university and corporate research institutions, as well as municipal and special water districts. What we do is well appreciated within the industry and by the scientists and engineers whom we support.

And even for those things I do that are directed toward the general public, though I know they are rarely effective, I see it more as lighting a candle instead of cursing the darkness.

[RobertEarl]

13. I work for NSA, I know where all your shit goes

Just shitting about that.

Your shit goes into big tanks. Some of it goes into the air. Some of it gets eaten by bugs. Most of it solidifies and drops to the bottom of the tank. That that does not drop drains into a river or lake or ocean or drain field. Some people downstream from your shit actually end up drinking the water that your shit was once carried by.

The stuff that drops is air dried and then put into compost which farmers put on their fields that produces food that you eat and then shit out, and back around it goes.

[jberryhill]

17. Good, but I meant yours specifically and geographically

...and not homeopathically.

[RobertEarl]

28. My advice to you, jberry

Mind your own shit. Keep your nose outta mine. I know you like sniffing it, just stop.

[Logical]

16. I heard it a series of tubes! n-t

[REP]

19. Yes, I know exactly where it goes.

Septic tank. Roses grow over it.

[jberryhill]

20. Ah ah ah...

I wasn't asking folks with septic tanks.

I'm not totally clear on how they work, but I hear great stories about when they don't.

[REP]

25. It involves a leach field, bacteria and various other stuff

Ours had a jackhole but we replaced it with a pump and grinder. As long as the tank is big enough to handle the number of occupants and the bacteria isn't killed off with cleaners and bleach. It's pretty simple.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

21. All too well.

Just had the building pipes rodded and camera'd.

I also know where 10 pounds of feminine hygiene products and baby wipes went but weren't supposed to.

Wanna see a picture?

[jberryhill]

23. You know...

Back when I had two teenage girls and their various guests in the house, the toilet would clog regularly and they swore it wasn't them.

After they moved out, it stopped happening.

I dunno what to think about that.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

27. The first thing the plumber said was nobody will admit to causing the "mice" problem.

[The Second Stone]

22. I've toured the treatment facility

very fascinating.

[jberryhill]

24. I've been to the treatment facility too!

Oh, wait, you mean for the sewage, right?

[Buzz Clik]

26. Yes. I can explain every aspect in great detail.

[petronius]

29. I'm pretty sure I do. There's a noticeable 'brown trout farm' on the other side

of town, and I'm pretty sure that handles our municipal output. I couldn't map the route though, and I don't know what happens to the liquid or solid after that point...

[lpbk2713]

30. My shit is stuff ...

and your stuff is shit.

[Decoy of Fenris]

31. Yup. Took a tour of the treatment plant once. n/t

[Control-Z]

32. I live in the county,

that last I heard, was the only one in the nation that recycles its water. So yes, I know exactly which water recycling plant my and my family's shit goes. But I try really, really hard not to think about it.

[Amonester]

34. Read all about it :o!

(if you want)
Green Space
Comments12
Montreal’s Wastewater Treatment, Part I – A History of Problems
July 21, 2009 | By Andrew Emond

http://spacing.ca/montreal/2009/07/21/montreals-wastewater-treatment-part-i-a-history-of-problems/

treatmentplant_tanks
The grit removal tanks of Montreal’s wastewater treatment plant.

Montreal’s wastewater treatment plant can be found at the far east end of the island in Pointe Aux Trembles. It’s the largest in North America and ranks the third largest in the world- capable of handling 32 square metres of water a second. Raw sewage (usually) ends up here via a network of deep-level tunnels referred to as interceptors. These interceptors form a ring around the island, collecting and distributing wastewater to the plant before it has a chance to enter the surrounding rivers. To get a better sense of how the interceptors work, you can have a look at the entry I posted earlier on Undermontreal.

[LeftInTX]

36. LOL - Why are you asking?

In the days before wastewater treatment facilities, municipal sewage used to go to farms
Yum yum - the ultimate recycling!!!

[Jenoch]

37. i'm quite familiar with how the municipal

waste water treatement system works. Why do you ask?

[mercuryblues]

38. I keep all

my shit in the front yard. About every 7 years I lose my shit. So no, I don't know where my shit eventually goes. If I did, my shit wouldn't be lost.

[quaker bill]

39. Yes, Yes, approximately, yes

Mine goes to the Iron Bridge WWTP, mostly by gravity sewer, as the plant is well down hill from here. It is at some point gathered into a forcemain which grows to 108" in diameter by the time it gets to the plant. It is treated, and the reclaim water is distributed for irrigation, in part to the soccer fields I can see from my front yard.

close enough?

[Fla_Democrat]

41. Of course, I got my shit together.

[Zorra]

42. I am more concerned about where it is coming from.

Most of it is coming from Wall St. and DC, and it's making the country stink.

(I have a septic tank)

[FSogol]

43. As a mechancial engineer, I often get to decide where your shit goes.

How do you like them apples?

[MineralMan]

45. I do. I've toured my city's sewage processing facility.

It's a very interesting place. Call yours up and arrange for a tour. They love showing off the technology.

http://www.awma-ums.org/presents/MCES_WWTP_TourOct06/MetroPlantMap.pdf

[Recursion]

46. This time of year, it tends to overflow into the Potomac way too often...

... but in general, I can say where it gets sent for treatment, but not the exact path of how it gets there.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

47. Where does the shit go? We want to know! Where does the shit go? We want to know!

Ten bucks or a Toyota to the DUer who identifies the obscure film reference there.

I'm most likely the only one on here who actually admits to liking it.