Cesspools Vs. Septic Tanks

New York's Long Island is famous for being home to some of the most prominent and wealthy families in the United States. It is also infamous for being home to one of the most environmentally dangerous types of plumbing that has ever been used. Cesspools are still in use all over Long Island, with some estimates figuring nearly half a million homes with cesspool plumbing.

What is cesspool plumbing? A cesspool is one of the most basic forms of plumbing. It usually involves hooking all of your plumbing in a building or a house to flow through one outbound tube, where the wastes collect in a "pool." Whereas 400 years ago, these pools were actually just a puddle of filth, more modern Long Island cesspools are made from concrete blocks. What makes these cesspools so dangerous, is that the waste is simply held there in its toxic state, where it waits for cesspool pumping, where professionals can take the waste away. In the time it is sitting there, the waste poses a danger to anyone nearby, to the ground soil and groundwater, and always carries the possibility of a cesspool emergency or full cesspool collapse.

Whereas a traditional cesspool sits in its raw state, a septic tank system pumps purifies itself through chemicals and a self-imposed septic tank pumping process. These types of wastewater systems are much more safe for the environment, and many residents of Long Island are making the transition from cesspool to Septic. For those that still have cesspool systems attached to their homes, you need to be made aware of the dangers.

Not only are these cesspools dangerous to the environment, but they can also collapse, causing a sinkhole that can be powerful enough to swallow a person or a small car. This is why it is so necessary to realize the dangers, and to maintain and repair any existing cesspool carefully through a professional.