When the original sewers were built, the sewage was discharged into which of the following?

• A. Lakes
• B. Ocean
• C. Groundwater
• D. Rivers or streams

Answer: (D)

When sewers were first built, the goal was simply to move waste away from the city using gravity, sending it to the nearest water body. Rivers or streams naturally served as the receiving channels for that wastewater, carrying it away with the current. Groundwater isn’t the target for sewer discharge, and while some places historically discharged into lakes or oceans, the common setup in early urban systems was drainage into rivers or streams that ran through or nearby the town. So the best fit for where the original sewers discharged is rivers or streams.