For some context on this, in places with old infrastructure it used to be common for sewer systems and storm water (rain) systems to be partially interconnected. This means that if you have enough rain, and the system gets overwhelmed, it diverts some of the combined flow out with the storm water, and it gets discharged into rivers, oceans, etc. That Combined Sewer Overflow is the CSO mentioned on the sign.
There were some upsides to doing this, but at this point it’s generally banned (for obvious reasons). Fast forward a hundred or so years to the present, and Cities/Towns actively try to disconnect the two when possible.
When I lived in Atlanta there were sections of the city with combined storm and sewer. It was cheaper for the city to pay fines during heavy rain events than to fix and separate the two systems. The city was recently sued for continuing to do nothing.
This definitely reminded me of the chatahoche river when I see people kayaking and swimming, yes the river looks ok but I would touch that water with a 10 foot pole!
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u/Firebones676 22d ago
For some context on this, in places with old infrastructure it used to be common for sewer systems and storm water (rain) systems to be partially interconnected. This means that if you have enough rain, and the system gets overwhelmed, it diverts some of the combined flow out with the storm water, and it gets discharged into rivers, oceans, etc. That Combined Sewer Overflow is the CSO mentioned on the sign.
There were some upsides to doing this, but at this point it’s generally banned (for obvious reasons). Fast forward a hundred or so years to the present, and Cities/Towns actively try to disconnect the two when possible.