An outfall is the discharge point of a waste stream into a body of water; alternatively it may be the outlet of a
river,
drain
Drain may refer to:
Objects and processes
* Drain (plumbing), a fixture that provides an exit-point for waste water or for water that is to be re-circulated on the side of a road
* Drain (surgery), a tube used to remove pus or other fluids from ...
or a
sewer where it discharges into the
sea
The sea, connected as the world ocean or simply the ocean, is the body of salty water that covers approximately 71% of the Earth's surface. The word sea is also used to denote second-order sections of the sea, such as the Mediterranean Sea, ...
, a
lake or ocean.
In the United States, industrial facilities that discharge storm water which was exposed to industrial activities at the site are required to have a multi-sector general permit.
[40 CFR Section 122.26] Issuing permits for storm water is delegated to the individual states that are authorized by the EPA. Facilities that apply for a permit must specify the number of outfalls at the site. According to the EPA'
2008 MSGP (final version) outfalls are locations where the stormwater exits the facility, including pipes, ditches, swales, and other structures that transport stormwater. If there is more than one outfall present, measure at the primary outfall (i.e., the outfall with the largest volume of stormwater discharge associated with industrial activity).
Outfalls from sewage plants can be up to 20 feet in diameter and release 4000 gallons of treated human waste every second, only miles from the shore.
A
wastewater treatment system discharges treated effluent to a water body from an outfall. An
ocean outfall
A marine outfall (or ocean outfall) is a pipeline or tunnel that discharges municipal or industrial wastewater, stormwater, combined sewer overflows (CSOs), cooling water, or brine effluents from water desalination plants to the sea. Usually they ...
may be conveyed several miles offshore, to discharge by
nozzle
A nozzle is a device designed to control the direction or characteristics of a fluid flow (specially to increase velocity) as it exits (or enters) an enclosed chamber or pipe.
A nozzle is often a pipe or tube of varying cross sectional area, a ...
s at the end of a spreader or T-shaped structure. Outfalls may also be constructed as an outfall tunnel or subsea tunnel and discharge effluent to the ocean via one or more marine risers with nozzles.
See also
*
Combined sewer
A combined sewer is a type of gravity sewer with a system of pipes, tunnels, pump stations etc. to transport sewage and urban runoff together to a sewage treatment plant or disposal site. This means that during rain events, the sewage gets dilute ...
*
Greywater
*
Marine outfall
*
Night soil
*
River mouth
A river mouth is where a river flows into a larger body of water, such as another river, a lake/reservoir, a bay/gulf, a sea, or an ocean. At the river mouth, sediments are often deposited due to the slowing of the current reducing the carrying ...
References
{{Sewerage
Sewerage infrastructure
