Sewer
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robot Adding: [[az:Kanalizasiya]]
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{{For|the art of stitching|Sewing}}
[[Image:Orfice.jpg|thumb|300px|Image of a pipe]]
[[Image:WaterPipeLarge.JPG|thumb|300px|A sewer-pipe being layed by the cities' sewerage company]]
A '''sewer''' is an artificial conduit (or pipe) or system of conduits used to carry and remove [[sewage]] (human liquid waste) and to provide drainage. In the 21st century developed world, sewers are usually pipelines that begin with connecting pipes from buildings to one or more levels of larger underground horizontal mains, which terminate at [[sewage treatment]] facilities. Vertical pipes, called [[manhole]]s, connect the mains to the surface. Sewers are generally gravity powered, though [[pump]]s may be used if necessary.
'''Storm sewers''' (also '''[[storm drain]]s''') are large pipes that transport storm water [[surface runoff|runoff]] from [[street]]s to natural bodies of water or absorptive areas (also considered as part of the sewer), to avoid street flooding. When the two systems are operated separately, the sewer system that is not the set of storm drains is called a '''[[sanitary sewer]]'''. In the [[United Kingdom]] legal system storm sewers are not differentiated from foul sewers (sanitary sewers) both being referred to as sewers. However in practice storm sewers are most commonly called Highway drains or gulleys. Catch-basins referred to below are therefore called gully-pots in the UK.
==Storm sewer function==
<!-- link this to wikionary when the entry becomes available -->Most storm sewers are provided with gratings or grids to prevent large objects from falling into the sewer system. Catchbasins are immediately below the vertical pipes connecting the surface to the storm sewers. While [[Grating|sewer grate]]s covering the vertical pipes with fairly widely spaced grating bars so that the flow of water is not impeded. Consequently many small objects can fall through. Most of these objects are caught by the catchbasin immediately below the grating. Water from the top of the catchbasin drains into the sewer proper. The catchbasin serves much the same function as the "trap" in household wastewater [[plumbing]] in trapping objects. In the United States of America, unlike the trap, the catchbasin does not necessarily prevent sewer gases such as [[hydrogen sulfide]] and [[methane]] from escaping. However in the United Kingdom, where they are called gulley-pots, they are designed as true water-filled traps and do block the egress of gases and rodents. Most catchbasins will contain [[stagnant water]] during the drier parts of the year and can be used by [[mosquito]]es for breeding. Catchbasins require regular cleaning to remove the trapped debris. Municipalities typically have large vacuum trucks that perform this task.
Storm sewer water may be treated or not, depending on jurisdiction. Treatment helps purify the storm water before being restored to a natural body of water. Storm water may become contaminated while running down the road or other [[impervious surface]], or from lawn chemical run-off, before entering the sewer. The separation of storm sewers from sanitary sewers helps to prevent sewage treatment plants becoming over-whelmed by the huge influx of water during a rainstorm. This can result in untreated sewage being discharged into the environment.
Usually storm sewers are designed to drain the storm water to rivers or streams as previously described. In the city of [[Cleveland, Ohio]], for example, all new catch basins installed have inscriptions on them not to dump any waste, and usually include a fish imprint as well. [[Washington, D.C.]] and other cities with older [[combined sewer|'''combined systems''']] have this problem due to a large influx of storm water after every heavy rain. Some cities have dealt with this by adding large storage tanks or ponds to hold the water until it can be treated. [[Chicago]] has a system of tunnels underneath the city for storing its stormwater.<ref>[[1996]]-[[06-01]]. [http://www.americancityandcounty.com/mag/government_chicago_digs_deep/ "Chicago digs deep to better manage stormwater"] ''American City & Country'', via americancityandcountry.com. Retrieved on [[2007]]-[[09-16]].</ref>
However, completely separating storm sewers from [[sanitary sewer]]s often means no treatment of [[stormwater]], which is not desirable either, as the ''first flush'' from storm runoff can be extremely dirty. Runoff into storm sewers can be minimized by including ''[[sustainable urban drainage systems]]'' (UK term) or ''[[low impact development]]'' practices (U.S. term) into municipal plans. Eaves troughs should not discharge directly into the storm sewer system but rather onto the ground where it has a chance to soak into the soil. Where possible, storm water runoff should be directed to unlined ditches before flowing into the storm sewers, again to allow the runoff to soak into the ground.
Separation of undesired runoff can be done within the storm sewer system, but such devices are new to the market and can only be installed with new development or during major upgrades. They are referred to as oil-grit separators (OGS) or oil-sediment separators (OSS). They consist of a specialized [[manhole]] chamber, and use the water flow and/or gravity to separate oil and grit.
==History==
The earliest covered sewers uncovered by archaeologists are in the regularly planned cities of the [[Indus Valley Civilization]]. In ancient Rome, the [[Cloaca Maxima]], considered a marvel of engineering, disgorged into the [[Tiber]]. In medieval European cities, small natural waterways used for carrying off wastewater were eventually covered over and functioned as sewers. London's [[River Fleet]] is such a system. Open drains along the center of some streets were known as '[[kennel]]s' (= canals, channels). The 19th century brick-vaulted sewer system of [[Paris]] offers tours for tourists.
==Sewers in non-fiction==
The image of the sewer recurs in European culture as they were often used as hiding places or routes of escape by the scorned or the hunted, including partisans and resistance fighters in WWII. The only survivors from the [[Warsaw Uprising]] and [[Warsaw Ghetto]] made their final escape through city sewers. Some have commented that the [[engraving]]s of imaginary [[prison]]s by [[Piranesi]] were inspired by the [[Cloaca Maxima]], one of the world's earliest sewers.
==Sewers in fiction==
The theme of traveling through, hiding, or even residing in sewers is a common [[cliché]] in media, where unsanitary conditions or the strong smell of sewage are seldom mentioned. Famous examples of sewer dwelling or scenes are [[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]], Stephen King's ''[[It (1990 film)|It]]'', ''[[The Third Man]]'', ''[[Mimic (film)|Mimic]]'', and ''[[The Phantom of the Opera]]''.
===Sewer alligators===
A well-known [[urban legend]], the [[sewer alligator]], is that of giant alligators or crocodiles residing in sewers, especially of major metropolitan areas. The [[Thomas Pynchon]] novel, '[[V.]]', features extended passages in which one of the protagonists, Benny Profane, works with a fictional [[New York City]] task force to track [[alligator]]s in the city sewers. His goal is to bag the great [[albino alligator]], reputed to inhabit the system. This literary conceit grows from the persistent [[urban legend]] that baby pet alligators, flushed down [[toilet]]s by tourists returning from [[Florida]], continue to live and flourish in the pipes below.
Two public sculptures in New York depict an alligator dragging a hapless victim into a manhole.<ref>http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4111768</ref>
Alligators have been known to get into combined storm sewers in the Southeastern United States. Closed-circuit television by a sewer repair company captured an alligator in a combined storm sewer on tape.<ref>http://youtube.com/watch?v=Mzh1lhV_RXE</ref>
==Notes==
{{reflist}}
==See also==
{{wiktionarypar|sewer}}
{{Commonscat|Sewers}}
* [[1929 Ottawa sewer explosion]]
* [[1992 explosion in Guadalajara]]
* [[Brighton sewers]]
* [[Buchan trap]]
* [[Chemical toilet]]
* [[Ecological sanitation]]
* [[Grease interceptor]]
* [[Humanure]]
* [[Infiltration gallery]]
* [[Latrine]]
* [[London sewerage system]]
* [[Orangi Pilot Project]]
* [[Outhouse]]
* [[Pit toilet]]
* [[Public Health Act 1875]]
* [[Septic tank]]
* [[Sewage treatment]]
* [[Sewer gas destructor lamp]]
* [[Waste disposal]]
* [[Water pollution]]
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