As a followup to LB's earlier comment, I think that, at least in the developed world, lack of public awareness about wastewater sanitation, rather than repulsion to the topic, is primarily what keeps the subject off the agenda. The generations who eagerly witnessed the installation of indoor plumbing are all but gone. Today, we just flush and it's whisked away, too busy in our daily routines to consider its fate. Many who live near sewage treatment plants aren't even quite sure what goes on behind that fence. These days, beach closings are few, and the old "No Swimming/Polluted Water" signs that I grew up with have almost disappeared. In the U.S., significant Federal and state investments in wastewater conveyance and treatment in the 70s and 80s seeming made sewage a problem of days gone by.

Unfortunately, infrastructure doesn't last forever. Like bridges and the electrical grid, our sewers, pumping stations and wastewater treatment plants need a continual flow of funding to be sustained. Federal money for wastewater-treatment projects dried up almost 20 years ago, dumping the burden on cash-strapped municipalities. Growth in population in many areas is already stressing systems, with some locales halting additional sanitary sewer connections. The propagation of pavement has increased storm runoff into aging collections systems; coupled with increasing rainfall rates, wet-weather overflows are on the rise.

To address these infrastructure and environmental issues, the City of New York recently released PlaNYC, which lays out dozens of multi-year initiatives. PlaNYC includes specific projects for maintaining and improving water quality, including expansion of wet-weather capacity at treatment plants, developing natural watercourses for storm runoff, and reducing overflows of combined sewage. In addition, the plan describes programs to improve power efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from these municipal facilities.

PlaNYC and Ms. George's book will hopefully raise public awareness that active solutions rather than reactive fixes are needed. I'd delighted to hear that LB wants to learn more about how sewage is treated in his home borough.