Where Do Wastewater Systems Drain Into?

When you run water in your home, you know that it goes down the sink drain or out of the washing machine; however, you may not know where this used water goes once it runs down the drain. Known as wastewater, it’s important to get rid of this used water in one way or another. So, how does this process work and where do wastewater systems drain into once they leave your home? The following highlights how the wastewater is removed from your home and where it goes once it’s drained.

What is Wastewater?

Wastewater is the used water within your home that comes from bathtub and kitchen sink drains, toilets, and washing machines. Once you wash your hands, take a bath, or flush the toilet, this used water exits your home in a variety of different ways. 

How Does Wastewater Leave Your Home?

How the wastewater leaves your home depends on the household fixture or appliance you’re using. For example, when washing your hands in the kitchen sink, the used water goes down the drain and out through the plumbing pipes. As for washing machine usage, as your clothes are getting washed, this water is pushed out through a drain hose. When you flush any toilet in your home, this wastewater leaves the house via plumbing pipes connected to the toilets. 

Where Does the Wastewater Go?

Once the wastewater leaves the house through various drain hoses and plumbing pipes, where it goes depends on what your main line connects to, either a septic system or a municipal sewer system. If you have a septic system on your property, the wastewater will flow through the pipes out to the septic tank. Once it’s in the septic tank, the wastewater will separate with the solids sinking to the bottom of the tank and oil and grease floating to the top. Any liquid wastewater will leave the tank and deposit in a drainfield. The drainfield soil will then treat and disperse the wastewater liquid. 

If you have a municipal sewer line connection, the wastewater leaves your home through connecting pipes that lead out to a main sewer line within your community. This main sewer line sends the water to a wastewater treatment plant where it undergoes sanitation and purification. Once the water goes through these processes at the wastewater treatment facility it is then distributed back out to the community or discharged into a local water source. 

The methods for sanitizing and purifying the wastewater depends on what type of water it is. For example, graywater is wastewater that comes from the washing machine, dishwasher, and shower drains. In the alternative, blackwater is wastewater that comes from toilets and kitchen sinks and needs the most sanitation and purification. In general, the wastewater treatment plant treats the water via four steps: screening, filtration, heat, and sanitation. Once the wastewater is treated it can be released back into an area water source. 

Ensure Your Plumbing Systems Work Properly with Help From NuBlue

Whether you have a septic system or use the municipal sewer system for the wastewater needs of your home, there may come a time when you require septic system or sewer system repairs. Should that need arise, NuBlue is here to help!

Our professional plumbers can help community members with all of their plumbing, sewer, and septic system needs in the Greenville, Fayetteville, Lake Norman, and Charlotte areas of North Carolina. If you find that your drains aren’t working as they should or your toilets are backing up, it may be a plumbing issue within the home or it may be a sewer line or septic tank problem. Whatever the plumbing issue may be, our team members can help find a solution fast and get your plumbing back in working order quickly. 

Contact NuBlue with all of your plumbing questions and to schedule an appointment today!