When I flush the toilet does it go into the creek?
Water enters local waterways in different ways, but not straight from your toilet! Water can travel from other creeks, wetlands, reservoirs, dams, surface run-off, surrounding soil or pipes into the local creek or river. In urbanised areas, stormwater is water which travels into our local waterways through the street gutters, street drains (side entry pits), channels and underground pipes that make up the stormwater system. Stormwater does not get treated.
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Wastewater from your toilet, sink, bathroom, kitchen and laundry flows through a different set of pipes to stormwater. For buildings connected to the sewerage system, this water travels to treatment plants where it is filtered, cleaned and disinfected, then returned to local rivers or the ocean. Sometimes it is re-used on ovals, parks or agricultural land. Buildings not connected to the sewerage system may have a septic tank which treats the wastewater on-site. Untreated wastewater only enters local waterways if there is a broken pipe or malfunction, or a septic system is not installed or maintained properly.