1. Describe the evolution of NYC's sewage system. What were some of the challenges that the city faced in its development of a waste removal system? What are some challenges that still remain?
The 1st sewers were during the Dutch colonial times. A channel was dug through to the middle of Broad Street and then decked over. But in the nineteen hundreds there was not really and actual sewer system. Waste was thrown in to gutters along the streets and in outhouses of people’s backyards. Over the next 50 years past/after 1849 people started to care and work on the sewer systems by adding flush toilets. Even in tenement buildings flush toilets were being put in. The first sewage treatment plant was constructed in the late 19th century. Later more smaller treatment plants were being put in. Some problems were that the water and waste that was in the toilets were untreated and eventually ended up in the rivers, contaminating them. More challenges were that the actual idea of placing modern plants in was not accepted until much later and then it would take another fifty years to actually create these new plants. A challenge that still remains is the storm overflow of combined sewage. This is when a storm comes by and sewers along streets are filled up and untreated wastewater and trash from the sewers are carried and brought into the ocean or bodies of water.
2. What positive impacts does the NYC sanitation system have on the bodies of water surrounding the city? What threats does the sanitation system pose to the surrounding waters?
Positive impacts of the NYC sanitation system are that now that the Department of Environmental Protection is working with them they have developed a solution to the problem of floating trash in the harbors, rivers and bodies of water. They have specialized boats that come around scooping up all floating material along the way. The water in New York City has definitely gotten cleaner and clearer throughout these efforts to improve the sanitation condition.
A negative point to the New York sanitation system is that even after all that effort of cleaning up floating trash there is still trash left along rivers. This ends up killing animals and other organisms living in the water.
3. In clear steps with many details, describe the life of your poop after you flush.
1- Down, down, down, it went as it I flushed it down the toilet.
2- Down the pipe it went to the cellar just to hit the air compressor so it could travel up to the street pipes.
3- My poop ran through the pipe connecting my buildings sewage to a pipe under the street that was very big.
4- I was moving at the speed of 2-3 feet per second.
5- I kept going passing under manholes along the way.
6- I passed through a regulator and then finally to a pipe that led to the plant.
7- First I was pumped through this filter that removed any sticks, trash or large objects that had somehow traveled with us through out the journey.
8- Second a sewage pump lifted me and some other wastewater to primary settling tanks at surface level.
9- Once we got there the heavier things like me sank to the bottom and then oils and floatables were at the top so they could be easily removed.
10- Then the wastewater was brought to a place where it could break down further. Workers stimulated the growth of bacteria so they could consume the organisms and remaining organic material that had contaminated the water in the first place. Like Me!
11- Then the clean water is taken out of the process I was in to go get more different treatments so I had to say bye to my water friends. Once done with treatments they would be chlorinated and put back into a body of water.
12- I was put in a sludge tank where all the feces like me were getting processed.
13- Then they added thickeners to the sludge.
14- Any extra water was taken out.
15- Finally the solids were put in tanks where they would get eaten by bacteria or shipped to farms to be used as fertilizers.