What causes sewer overflows? When do they occur?
A. Sewer overflows can occur for a variety of reasons. Occasionally, they are the result of a failure of the sewer system – for example, a clogged or broken pipe can cause sewage to backup. When the backup reaches an opening – either in the street, a yard or in someone’s basement, the sewage escapes through that opening and becomes a potential health hazard. More often however, the overflow is caused because the amount of sewage and/or water flowing through the pipe exceeds the pipe’s capacity. For example, pipe could be large enough to handle the daily sewage that passes through it; however, when that sewage is combined with water from a heavy rainstorm, the pipe can be overwhelmed, and the mixture of sewage and water leaks out of the system and into the open.
