New respect for sewer plants after floods

"There are 19 wastewater treatment plants in Rhode Island that serve a combined 702,000 people, or about 67 percent of the state’s population, according to the R.I. Department of Environmental Management. All told, the plants process an average of 129 million gallons of raw sewage a day during the busiest summer months.

By their very nature, sewage-treatment plants tend to be located in areas that could be flooded. Planners put plants low so sewage will flow to the plant thanks to gravity and not costly pumps, said Ames Colt, chairman of the R.I. Bays, Rivers, & Watersheds Coordination Team, a group of state agencies. The plants also need to discharge their treated water, known as effluent, and plant operators don’t want to pump it miles to the nearest river or body of water." More from recent article by Chris Barrett from Providence Business News: http://www.pbn.com/detail/49579.html?sub_id=49579&page=1