It consists of what flows out as wastewaters from the toilets, kitchens and bathrooms of residential houses and toilets and canteens of commercial establishments. Such wastewater is termed as sewage. The most widely prevalent disposal practice is to discharge the sewage on to the ground, nearby nallahs, rivers and other watercourses, often without any treatment.
In class-1 cities (population > 1.0 lakh) for instance, where better sewage collection and treatment prior to disposal is expected, only about 60% of the population have access to the sewage system. Even in the, metropolitan cities, only around 60% of the total waste-water generated is collected through the sewer system. The remaining is let out on the surface, creating insanitary conditions, foul smell and degradation of environment.
Also, in class-I cities on an average only about 20% of the waste-water collected through the sewers is subjected to some kind of treatment prior to its disposal. It may be mentioned that the treatment given is often inadequate and rarely the quality of waste-waters discharged from the sewage treatment plants meets the disposal standards. As a matter of fact, the raw sewage that flows out from our cities and towns directly into the rivers is one of the major cause of our rivers getting polluted. There is hardly any river, which is an exception.
The sewerage and sanitation scene in class-2 cities (population between 0.5 and 1.0 lakh) presents a despicable picture of insanitary conditions. In these cities and smaller towns, not more than 5% of the total waste water generated is either collected or treated.
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In rural areas, generally there is no piped water supply. As such, both the generation and the consequent disposal of waste-water is small. Even then, it is not uncommon to find stinking, wet streets in the villages, due to utter lack of drainage.