- Wastewater
Facts and figures of wastewater
Water-related diseases:
Globally, two million tons of sewage, industrial and agricultural waste is discharged into the world’s waterways and at least 1.8 million children under five years old die every year from water related disease, or one every 20 seconds.
Wastewater treatment in California USA:
In California, 100,000 miles of sanitary sewers and more than 900 wastewater treatment plants manage the approximately 4 billion gallons of wastewater generated every day by the state’s citizens, businesses, and visitors, according to the 2012 California Infrastructure Report Card prepared by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). “This engineered wastewater infrastructure serves their ratepayers and customers and visitors very well in their mission to protect public health and the environment,” the report card noted in an excerpt.
ISBN-13: 978-1-61948-003-2 – Abridged Edition, California Wastewater
Prepared by the Water Education Foundation
USA daily wastewater processing:
Most homes and businesses send their wastewater to a treatment plant where many pollutants are removed from the water. Wastewater treatment facilities in the United States process approximately 34 billion gallons of wastewater every day.
The Sources and Solutions: Wastewater. http://www2.epa.gov/nutrientpollution/sources-and-solutions-wastewater
Global wastewater treatment:
Globally, only 20% of the wastewater produced receives proper treatment. (UNESCO 2012). Treatment capacity typically depends on the income level of the country, thus treatment capacity is 70% of the generated wastewater in high-income countries, compared to only 8% in low-income countries.
Wastewater Management A UN-Water Analytical Brief
http://www.unwater.org/fileadmin/user_upload/unwater_new/docs/UN-Water_Analytical_Brief_Wastewater_Management.pdf
Car wash water use:
On average, a self-serve facility uses 20 gallons of water per vehicle with 3-5 gallons of water loss through evaporation and carryout. Tunnel car wash facilities can wash from 100 to 1,000 cars a day, using an average of 80 gallons of water per car.
Page 5,7, Guide to Best Management Practices. Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Pollution Prevention Program, and Industrial Wastewater Section.
The Great Lakes Sewage Dump:
A study by Sierra Legal found that more than 90 billion liters of untreated sewage were dumped into the Great Lakes each year. That’s the same as dumping over 100 Olympic swimming pools of raw sewage into the Great Lakes, every day!