Beyond the Pipes: Environmental Impacts of Sewer Line Leaks in Wisconsin

Your local community needs help protecting the environment and preventing sewer problems. While you have no control over the sewer itself, you can control your home’s sewer line and the things you put down the drains. By increasing awareness of the environmental impacts of sewer line leaks, you can help prevent problems in your community, particularly in the soil, water, and for your neighbors. 

Advanced Trenchless Solutions has described how a sewer line leak can impact your local environment and what you can do to help protect it. 

Water Contamination

When a leak occurs in your sewer line, raw sewage can be released into the surrounding soil and bodies of water. This contamination can introduce harmful pathogens, bacteria, and viruses into the environment, posing a risk to human health and water life. 

Nutrient Pollution

Raw sewage contains various nutrients, such as nitrogen and phosphorus. When these leak into water sources, they can lead to nutrient pollution, which causes algae blooms and depleted oxygen levels in water. This can harm aquatic ecosystems by killing fish and degrading the water quality.

Habitat Degradation

Sewage can also affect local habitats in rivers, lakes, and other bodies of water. Pollution can adversely affect plants and animals that live in these water sources, disrupting the ecosystem and biodiversity. 

Contaminant Transport

When you flush chemicals or pharmaceuticals, these substances end up in the water supply before being treated at the water plant. But if you have a sewer line leak, these chemicals can end up in the soil, water table, and surrounding bodies of water. They can impact downstream ecosystems and the human population. 

Additionally, if your water has heavy metals in it, such as lead, these can leak into the soil and water and cause pollution. 

Public Health Risks

Raw sewage can pose significant risks to public health. Exposure to contaminated water can lead to waterborne illnesses such as gastroenteritis, hepatitis, and skin infections. If too much raw sewage is in the water supply, a community may need to implement a boil water advisory or other measures to protect public health during and after sewage leaks. 

What You Can Do to Protect the Environment

As a homeowner, you can do your part to protect the environment by monitoring your sewer line for problems. If you notice anything out of the ordinary, call a local plumbing company right away to address the problem and avoid further contamination in the soil and water. 

Some ways you can help include: 

• Don’t flush old medications down the drain.
• Avoid draining cleaning chemicals in the sink or toilet.
• Don’t pour cooking oil or grease down the drain.
• Conserve water inside your home.

Signs Your Sewer Line May Have a Leak

It is best to be on the lookout for common signs that your sewer line is leaking. Some signs include: 

• Your drains are slow.
• You can smell foul odors outdoors.
• You have high water bills.
• You can smell sewage in your yard.
• There are puddles in your yard not caused by rain.
• You can hear gurgling sounds.
• Influx of pets and insects.

Any of these signs should prompt you to call a professional plumbing company to assess the problem and recommend solutions. In this way, you can help prevent environmental problems in your community. 

Call Advanced Trenchless Solutions to Repair Your Sewer Line

When you need sewer line repair in Wisconsin Rapids, WI, reach out to Advanced Trenchless Solutions. Our experienced and knowledgeable techs can repair your sewer line through trenchless methods, which are faster, less expensive, and less disruptive. These methods include pipe lining and pipe bursting, which are both great options for trenchless sewer line repair. 

Through quick action, you can help prevent environmental problems associated with sewer line leaks. 

Give us a call today at 844-513-4106 or request a consultation online!