Most people don’t give wastewater treatment a great deal of thought – wastewater from your home flows into a septic system or sewer, where it’s handled without much concern to the average person. While septic systems and municipal wastewater treatment facilities are designed to remove contaminants and improve water quality, the process can be improved with your help.
You can improve the effectiveness and efficiency of wastewater treatment systems that serve your household by following these best practices in your day-to-day life.
- If you have a septic system, pump it out to remove solids every two to three years.
- Never dump oils or grease down your drains.
- Never wash chemicals down your drains; using non-toxic household cleaners will keep more chemicals out of your wastewater.
- Limit your use of garbage disposals, which dump large quantities of organic matter into septic tanks and sewers, and consume higher amounts of water.
Also, limiting your water use will limit the amount of wastewater created by your household, lowering the demand for on-site or municipal wastewater treatment solutions.
- Don’t flush your toilets to dispose of items which should be treated as solid waste and thrown into the garbage.
- Prevent unnecessary water consumption by turning off faucets when they are not being used and fixing plumbing leaks.
- Make upgrades to your home to lower water consumption. Switching to low-flow toilets and shower heads can drastically reduce the amount of water used.
- Maximize utilization of water-consuming appliances by only washing full loads in washing machines and dishwashers.
Indiana American Water is committed to providing Hoosiers with high-quality water treatment solutions, which allow us to deliver quality, reliable water service. We’re investing in the necessary water infrastructure to deliver on our commitment to you. Last year alone, we invested more than $140 million in our water and wastewater infrastructure around the state.
Our employees are experts at delivering high-quality water and wastewater service to our customers. We are scientists, environmentalists, innovators and protectors. We also live and work in the communities we serve. We understand how important, how precious and critical water is to daily life.