Wastewater Collection

Wastewater is any water that is used in a home, school or business and that leaves through a drain after it is used. This could include water which was discharged from a sink, shower, or washing machine. Given the nature of these sources of wastewater, it is not surprising that wastewater's composition is mostly water. In fact, on a volume basis, wastewater is about 99.9% water. The remaining 0.1% by volume is solid materials.

The average person uses roughly 300 litres of water per day. This means that a typical home with 3 to 4 occupants, generates about 1,000 litres of wastewater a day. That's equivalent of 5 bathtubs!

Wastewater leaving the home travels through a network of piping or sanitary sewers to a wastewater treatment plant. Rainwater from eavestroughs, wastewater from washing cars in driveways and run-off from lawns (including fertilizer and pesticides) is collected in storm sewers that discharge directly into our streams.

In the Region of York, most wastewater is collected in a large trunk sewer system (York-Durham Sewage System) and treated at the Duffin Creek Water Pollution Control Plant in Pickering before it's discharged into Lake Ontario. This system serves Newmarket, Aurora, Richmond Hill, Vaughan and Markham. Separate treatment plants discharging into river tributaries exist in Stouffville, Mount Albert, Holland Landing, Schomberg and Kleinburg. The Keswick and Sutton wastewater treatment plants discharge into Lake Simcoe. (Click here for more information on wastewater treatment in York Region.)

The following map illustrates wastewater collection and servicing in York Region.

Click here to access York Explorer mapping for more details on serviced areas.