An outfall is the discharge point of a waste stream into a body of water; alternatively it may be the outlet of a
river
A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of w ...
,
drain or a
sewer where it discharges into the
sea, a
lake
A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...
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
Wastewater is water generated after the use of freshwater, raw water, drinking water or saline water in a variety of deliberate applications or processes. Another definition of wastewater is "Used water from any combination of domestic, industrial ...
treatment system discharges treated effluent to a water body from an outfall. An
ocean outfall may be conveyed several miles offshore, to discharge by
nozzles 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
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Combined sewer
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Greywater
Greywater (or grey water, sullage, also spelled gray water in the United States) refers to domestic wastewater generated in households or office buildings from streams without fecal contamination, i.e., all streams except for the wastewater fro ...
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Marine 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 ...
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Night soil
Night soil is a historically used euphemism for human excreta collected from cesspools, privies, pail closets, pit latrines, privy middens, septic tanks, etc. This material was removed from the immediate area, usually at night, by workers em ...
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River mouth
References
{{Sewerage
Sewerage infrastructure