How Treating Wastewater Affects Community Life

There’s been a lot of discussion about the migration that is taking place across the United States where individuals who were living in cities now find themselves in smaller towns or rural communities. The reason why they make this move is because they are looking to improve the overall quality of their life. They look forward to enjoying the things that are typically associated with life in the country, such as clean lakes, clean rivers, and clean streams.

What often goes overlooked is the challenge that these small communities have maintaining the qualities that attracted people to them once the population starts to grow. One area where this is seen is dealing with the treatment and disposal of waste water. Unquestionably, properly treating wastewater is the key to public health. When wastewater is not properly treated, the effects not only on the public but also on the environment can be devastating. Industrial wastewater treatment facilities play a large role in keeping small towns healthy and vibrant.

It is not an exaggeration to say that properly cleaning and protecting wastewater is as important as trash collection. One can only imagine how terrible a small town would look as its population increased if the trash was not properly collected. From a human health standpoint, it’s estimated that 80 percent of infectious diseases that people get are connected in one way or another to contaminated water. The severity of the problem is even clearer when one considers that on an annual basis, two million children worldwide die because wastewater treatment is not a priority where they live. And it’s estimated that almost a billion people annually have some type of illness connected to improperly treated wastewater.

Contrary to what people believe, these situations do not solely exist in developing countries. There have been recent examples in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada that illustrate the risks that improperly treating wastewater can have even in what are considered to be developed countries. Thankfully, there are many modern wastewater treatment facilities that are working around the clock to improve the water of the community that they operate in.