Learn about the costs that go into building and maintaining different waste water treatment systems.
Sewer systems are amazingly efficient is treating waste water and have been used by humans for thousands of years. However, these complex systems come at a price. As opposed to a simple septic tank, sewer systems cost a lot of money and energy in order to work efficiently. According to Energy Star, over 50 thousand BTU per gallon of water is needed in order to clean the wastewater effectively. This translates not only to high power consumption but also to high prices to clean the water. Many wastewater treatment plants spend about $1,000,000 on energy costs per year. About 95% of these energy costs come from electricity. In Boston Massachusetts, residence pay upwards of $900 per year on sewage bills. Not only that, in order to hook up sewage pipes to a residence, one must pay nearly $3,000 for the installation. While this is similar installation price to septic tanks, users who choose septic don’t have to pay a yearly fee on top of that. The only cost related to septic tanks are maintenance fees and the cost of having them pumped. Maintenance fees only come up when the septic tank is broken or not functioning which is very uncommon as long as there aren't impractical objects being flushed into the tank which can obstruct the process. The pumping fee only comes once every 3-5 years depending on the size o the tanks and the amount of sewage being pumped into it. The cost of pumping is only about $300 depending on your location, which is still much lower than the yearly costs related to using sewage systems per- capita.This information shows that decentralized systems are more economically beneficial as long as they are practical for where you live.
One of the main benefits of a centralized sewer system is that septic tanks cannot function in cities. In areas where the population density is very high such as an apartment complex, there is no space for septic tanks because they would have to be massive in order to support the amount of in-flowing waste water, and there is not enough open land for them to function properly. In order to dispose of waste water in this case, a sewage system is the only feasible option. The only thing is, many people in even rural areas such as right here in Northfield, VT use sewage systems. 50% of Americans live in rural areas while only 20% are known to use septic tanks and considering the benefits of septic tanks, these numbers seem surprising. The reason why people in rural areas often use sewage systems to dispose of their waste water is because of local law. Local law in many areas required citizens to hook up to sewage systems when they are readily available. The only clear reason for this is to give more money to companies that own the waste water treatment plants so that they can stay in business. It is clear that Septic tanks are the better alternative for disposing of waste water from an economic standpoint.
https://www.samcotech.com/cost-wastewater-treatment-system/
https://www.thumbtack.com/p/septic-tank-cost