Sewage 101

In St. Louis, locals have dubbed the nutrient-polluted River des Pere the River Despair. Across the state in Kansas City, Brush Creek has earned the moniker Flush Creek, for the raw and partially treated sewage that regularly flows into it. "You can fish for ‘brown trout’ in either of these waterways after any significant rainstorm," says Scott Dye, director of the Sierra Club's Water Sentinels Program.

Dealing responsibly with sewage is a huge factor in maintaining safe and healthy communities. Every year, millions of Americans get sick from contact with inadequately treated sewage that ends up in water that they swim in or drink. Many of us think of water pollution in this country as primarily substances like mercury or PCBs. In fact, the most common threat to the health of waters across the United States is nutrient pollution, from a variety of sources, including animal waste—particularly from factory farms—fertilizers, human sewage, and stormwater runoff.

Plants and animals need nutrients to survive, of course, but putting too many nutrients—especially nitrogen and phosphorus—into our waterways can make them dangerous and unhealthy. All U.S. coastal waters currently show signs of nutrient over-enrichment, and more than 60 percent of coastal rivers and bays in every coastal state in the Lower 48 are moderately-to-severely polluted by nutrients. According to the EPA, elevated levels of nitrogen and phosphorus are responsible for impairing a huge list of waterways in every state. The EPA estimates that hog, chicken, and cattle waste has polluted more than 35,000 miles of rivers in the lower 48 states.

The Planet, the Sierra Club’s activist newsletter, has just published "Sewage 101," examining the sources of nutrient pollution and detailing some of the Club’s efforts to combat sewage pollution of waterways around the country. The article also contains a downloadable infographic showing how excessive levels of nutrients can poison waterways, and tips to let you know what you can do to help combat sewage pollution.