What Does
Collector Sewer Mean?
A collector sewer is used to convey waste from smaller tributaries toward the waste treatment plant. It is part of a multi-tiered wastewater collection system in a city or metropolitan area.
The terms for each tier may vary in different municipalities, regions or countries. Pipes or tunnels in a sewage system are often installed or maintained using trenchless construction techniques.
A collector sewer may also be called the main sewer, however, in some cases they may be different.
Trenchlesspedia Explains Collector Sewer
In a large metropolitan area, the sewer system can be vast and complex. The nomenclature may vary from city to city. Collector sewers may be equated with main sewers, which are between the branch (lateral) sewer and the trunk sewer.
Taking advantages of gravity as well as pumping where needed, a large sewer system moves wastewater from homes and business down ever-larger tributaries until it reaches its destination for treatment. The tiers of a sewer system can be laid out in this way:
- building sewer
- branch (lateral) sewer
- collector (main) sewer
- trunk sewer
- interceptor sewer
The terms are used for describing the size of the pipes or volume of wastewater in a particular region of the sewer system. While the designations are not arbitrary, the terms may be locally determined or assigned during installation.