1. Describe the evolution of NYC's sewage system. What are some of the challenges that the city faced in its development of a waste removal system? What are some challenges that still remain?
It first started with the Dutch. They dug a channel which was then decked over. But there were also times where the people just did their business in out houses and then dropped onto the gutters of the streets. In 1849, this exact idea caused a very large sickness called cholera. After this, the city started to realize the importance of sanitation and decided to do something about it. The first modern sewage system was made in the late nineteen hundreds in Brooklyn. This was just one way of cleaning the water. The system of cleaning water was only approved until 1931. For the sewage system to be completed, it would have taken another 50 years. Some challenges that happened were that people did not realize the importance of sewage treatment plants. Without the knowledge, they got sick (which happened lots of time). Some challenges that still remain is where to dump the things that cannot be reused into the water. This is a problem because people are now just putting it into the oceans.
A problem that we had was that we could separate the "sludge", or solid matter, from water and release it back into the oceans. The sludge is first taken through and passed through different chemicals in order for it to be released. This was a problem because it was polluting the oceans. Once this was prohibited by the Congress, we found other ways to put it other than in the ocean.
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?
One positive impact is that we have a way of cleaning the water, so that we do not just leave it and dump it into the oceans. The water passes through pipes, and tunnels, while it gets cleaned and reused. This is also a good thing because it prevents us from getting sick easily. Another is the removing of sludge in the ocean. The sludge is sometimes reused, but is most of the times put in land areas to , for example, fertilize the citrus grooves in Florida. Some threats are that there can be overflows of the sewage system. There are about 700 outfalls in the Harbor and 450 in New York City alone. Thus there is an overflow of storm water and raw sewage coming into homes and streets.
3. In clear steps with many details, describe the life of your poop after you flush.
First, the water goes down the drain. These drains are drains inside the building which lead to many more pipes underground. Then it goes through a cleaning process which removes things like newspapers, sticks, cans, and rags. Then it goes through a tank at ground level. In that tank, they remove the sludge that is inside it. Then it gos to the other sewage treatment that purifies it even more. After that it goes through a tank where chlorine is added. Then it sits for a day and then it is heated once again and then is reused.