The water you flush down the toilet or wash down the drain is called wastewater or sewage.
Wastewater needs to be transported to a treatment plant to be cleaned, which is done by an underground network of pipes, mains and sewage pump stations. Sewage pump stations enable sewage to travel through pipes from a lower level to a higher level, allowing it to continue its journey to the treatment plant even if it needs to travel up steep ground.
Find out more about how sewage gets treated by downloading the factsheet.
Years 3 - 4: Geography VCGGK082
Years 5 - 6: Geography VCGGK096
Years 7 - 8: Geography VCGGK106, Science VCSSU095 and VCSSU098
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