Most all cities have water service and sewer service available [some mountain communities require residents to haul in water and to use septic tanks for waste.] Other than those exceptions - sewer systems are used to carry water and the material within them to a central processing station where they are treated and the reusable water is released back into the water supply. No idea what happens to the solid waste.
As of today, few if any cities have their sewer systems connected because each city supposedly has the capacity to process any amount of sewage they collect. These same cities also have the capability to collect potable [drinking] water and send it to each building's in pipe. These municipalities have “enough” based on their contracts with their counties and states.
As of now, when a heavy rain storm hits, streets quickly flood and water enters homes and buildings as there is no other avenue for the water to take. When water comes off canals, rivers, oceans, and other water sources, quickly, a municipality can become overwhelmed and floods till rivers or other water hauls it away--or it evaporates.
Cities choose not to agree with each other, in further agreement with each county, to inter-connect their sewers. Why? Politics. The power to control in-flow or outflow. The water
and sewer controllers have no other power. And it does cost money to send an electrical
signal to a value to send or receive water, and to pump if sending it out. Ego gets in the
way; small communities' mayors have no need to ask for remediation money; they just ignore the situation and let the police and insurance firms handle the chaos and losses.
Also, what if the next community is miles away, in a hostile political community? No way
will the county supervisor or mayor permit communicating with them! And it does take money to build trenches, install more pipes and to program computers that can be hacked; why risk it?
Only the smart leaders will build it so that when the next floods come [whoops, that is today!], while water appears ready to overwhelms them, the local sewage engineer[s] need only contact their equal in the next community and say “sending new effluent your way, open up!”
If the amount of rain or river water is greater than the two communities can absorb, the smart engineer contacts the next city at a different corner of the map [one starts with S or SW and goes to SE and then, to N or NW or NE] and gets the ball rolling, or, more specifically, the
excess water OUT!
Now, our nation has had in the last few weeks, monster floods that overwhelmed many cities, counties and states. So, how do we deal with this extra large problem? Same way, except we bring in the governor's office and ask to send the liquid also S or SE, etc.
If one must send the material 1-2-3-4 states away, so be it. One fact exists, at the same time that some communities/states are flooded, states to their N or S or E or W are dry! That is where the excess is sent! Duh!
This NEW interconnectivity can be done within 90 days! Cost? Zero. Why? Cause the losses not incurred by the municipalities would easily pay for it!
This system should save the USA at least $100M a year, every year for all time in eternity. Will the municipalities use this? NO. Why? Cause it was created by me and not by them! But I have been wrong before. I am available to any municipality to guide them through this.
NO MORE flooding anywhere in the US!! NEVER AGAIN! [love the excess water!]
[And for poor communities, federal grants will pay for the digging, pipes, and computers
plus pumps]
