Who are they kidding? …as opposed to an unsanitary sewer?
Is this trying to diiferentiate from other types of sewers?
Can anyone explain this euphomism to me?
- Jinx
Sanitary sewers are for the disposal of human excreta, thus maintaining sanitation, wheras storm sewers are intended primarily for the disposal of excess rainwater runoff. Hence the distinction. Sanitary sewers are normally sealed against the intrusion of stormwater, so every rain doesn’t cause your toilet to back up or basement to flood.
Once upon a time there was no separation, in fact some areas of the US still aren’t separated, but for the most part, a totally separate deal.
b.
'Cause you have to treat the sewage before releasing it, but not the rainwater. If they were the same system, you’d have to treat everything.
As Billy Rubin stated, they’re used for disposal of human waste. Don’t read “sanitary” as meaning “clean”, consider it a euphemism for “having to do with unsanitary stuff”. Similarly, a “sanitary napkin” soaks up icky stuff.
One can argue that “sanitary” refers to keeping the rest of the world sanitary, but I don’t buy it.
It’s like calling it “life insurance” when a more sensible name would be “death insurance”, like fire or flood insurance.
The word “sanitary” in English/American first appears in 1842 and simply referred to “promoting health.” Using this definition, a “sanitary sewer” would be logical.