ABSTRACT
Populations in the United States have moved from rural to metropolitan areas. This has created considerable difficulty in providing adequate sewerage systems to meet the growth. The sewerage systems built many years ago cannot handle the additional load. In many areas, communities have gone to individual septic tanks and soil absorption systems that at best are not good procedures. In 1860, of a population of 31 million, 30 million lived in unsewered areas and 1 million lived in untreated sewered areas. In 1900, of a population of 76 million, 51 million lived in unsewered areas and 25 million, in sewered areas. In 2002, of a population of 287 million, 60 million lived in unsewered areas, and 227 million, in sewered areas. As can be seen from these statistics, along with a growth in population, a considerable growth has occurred in the number of areas where sewerage systems are provided, as well as a large increase in the number of areas where sewerage systems are not provided. Although the percentage of sewer installations are much higher today compared with the total number of unsewered homes, the total population of the United States far exceeds that of 1860.
