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.
Newtown Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant
The Newtown Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant is the largest sewage treatment facility operated by the New York City Department of Environmental Protection. Since 2010, its eight metallic "digester eggs," which are 140 feet (42 meters) tall and dramatically illuminated with blue light at night, have made it a local landmark, particularly to motorists on several nearby roadways in the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn, Queens, and Manhattan. It is located on the Newtown Creek in Brooklyn's Greenpoint neighborhood along Greenpoint Avenue.