Effluent sewer
Effluent sewers also currently serve fewer people than septic systems, which also use septic tanks, but simply dispose of the effluent by draining it into a leach field. About one quarter of United States homes dispose of their wastewater with septic tanks. However, effluent sewers are being looked at as a sewage treatment solution in areas where gravity sewer systems are not well-suited or when the high capital cost to build a gravity system is prohibitive. Areas that are less than ideal for gravity systems include areas that are large, but extremely flat and areas that require long-distance pumping, such as where homes are widely spread out or when several small villages or towns connect their sewage systems so that a centralized plant can be built.
Hyde Park Obelisk
There are two types of sewer vents within the Sydney Water system; educt and induct. Induct vents draw air into a sewerage system to areate the pipelines. Educt vents allow gases to escape when the gas is lighter than air. The shape of the cowling on the older types of vents were set to produce either eduction or indcution whenever there is a natural breeze. This is an educt shaft, a simple masonry shaft modelled on Cleopatra's Needle (now situated on the Thames Embankment, London) and erected in 1857 during the period of George Thornton as Mayor of Sydney. Vents are for the safety of personnel as well as to prevent corrosion by chemical decay. The ventilation of sewers is a very important facet of continued operation of a sewerage system. Poor ventilation can result in serious odour problems and breakdown in fabric.