Regardless of what colors you wore on Sunday, this is one replay you don’t want to miss! It’s Super Bowl Sunday like you’ve never seen it before – through the eyes of your sewer. That’s right, I said sewer. HRSD maintains more than 500 miles of pipes and 13 treatment plants across Hampton Roads that clean wastewater for a population of more than 1.6 million people. When you flush, the wastewater from your home’s plumbing flows to the city-owned sanitary sewer pipeline and then to HRSD’s pipeline system where it is sent to a wastewater treatment plant. At the plant, wastewater is treated and clean water is released into local waterways. In order to meet the wastewater needs of the region, HRSD keeps a close eye on what’s coming down the pipes.
Most of the time, sanitary sewer flows follow a daily cycle, with higher residential flow during the daytime when we are typically awake. This pattern varies with the day of the week, holidays, and other events…events like the Super Bowl. Yep, it turns out all you football fans out there have an interesting impact on the sanitary sewer system. The graph to the left (click to enlarge) shows wastewater flow at HRSD’s Virginia Initiative Treatment Plant in Norfolk, VA. Typical Sunday flow is shown in grey, and Super Bowl Sunday flow is shown in red. On Super Bowl Sunday, flow was well below average during the game while fans were cheering for their favorite team. But check out that end-of-game jump in flow! It’s sort of like a sewer flashmob. If you ever wondered what would happen if everyone flushed or showered at the same time – this gives you an idea. Our Virginia Initiative plant experienced a 2 million gallon spike right before all the football fans called it a night. See if you contributed to the flow spike by looking at the map below (click to enlarge); areas serviced by HRSD’s Virginia Initiative Plant are highlighted in orange.
There are over 200 flow meters throughout the HRSD system that help ensure the proper collection and treatment of our region’s wastewater. While you had your eyes on the game, we had our eyes on the sewer, and now that you’ve seen through the eyes of a sewer, don’t just flush it and forget it. Help keep things flowing in the right direction by using a garbage can for trash (not your toilet), and keeping fats, oils, and grease out of your sink drain. Sending them to the sewer can cause clogs and backups, and that is one sewer sociology lesson we can all live without!
Article written by askHRgreen.org committee member Sarah Crawford, Community Educator, HRSD