Sewage

The brown blobs beneath your city’s road system are raw sewage. Don’t let sewage build up in the pipes, otherwise it will become ground pollution.

It may be unpleasant to think about, but shortly after your Sims gain access to water, they’ll begin converting it into raw sewage. This sewage builds up in the pipes beneath your road system, appearing as brown blobs when the Sewage menu is open.

If ignored, the sewage will eventually back up, creating ground pollution all over your city. Not only are Sims disgusted by the sight of sewage pooling in their yards and streets, they can also get sick from it due to the spread of germs.

So as Mayor, it’s your job to make sure sewage is moved out of the pipes and into a designated disposal area. Build a Sewage Outflow Pipe to dump raw sewage onto an open piece of land far from your residents. Or collect it at a Sewage Treatment Plant and dispose of it properly. If you don’t want to deal with sewage at all, simply buy service from a neighboring city in the region.

For all information relating to your city’s sewage system, reference the info tab within the Sewage menu. The analog gauge here shows the excess capacity of your sewage system, measured in kilogallons (kgal). Keep the needle in the green to ensure sewage is flowing properly through the pipes with no backups.

But if the needle moves into the yellow or red zones, you may be facing a flow or capacity problem—build another Sewage Outflow Pipe or add another Sewage Treatment Tank to your Sewage Treatment Plant to fix the problem. The info tab also shows the percentage of sewage being treated—make sure this reads 100% if you have a Sewage Treatment Plant. If it doesn’t read 100%, your facility may be over capacity or understaffed, resulting in ground pollution. You can also see the amount of sewage capacity available for purchase in the region, if you decide to send your sewage elsewhere.

While the info tab reveals a wealth of information, simply opening the Sewage menu and watching the brown blobs flowing beneath your city streets is usually adequate to spot deficiencies in your system. As long as these blobs are moving at a steady rate, things are working well.

But if movement of sewage is slow or stagnant, you need to address the problem quickly by increasing capacity. As your city grows, it will produce more and more sewage. As high density buildings start popping up, periodically click on the Sewage menu to ensure your system is still handling the increased flow streaming from new high rises.

Sewage Outflow Pipe

• Cost: 3,500
• Operational Cost: 100 per hour
• Maximum Sewage Flow Rate: 11.7 kgal/hr
• Maximum Ground Pollution Rate: 120,000 ppm/hr
• Description: Converts sewage into ground pollution. Better in a spot you pick than backing up in John and Jane Q. Public’s backyard.

Until a Department of Utilities has been built in the region, the Sewage Outflow Pipe is the only option for handling a city’s sewage problem. This utility pumps raw sewage out of the pipe system and simply dumps it onto an open piece of land, creating plenty of icky ground pollution in the process.

As a result, keep the smelly Sewage Outflow Pipe far away from your population centers to prevent the spread of germs. Speaking of germs, never build a Water Tower or Water Pumping Station near the Sewage Outflow Pipe. Ground pollution seeps into the water table and can contaminate your water source.

Pumping polluted water throughout your city is a surefire way to trigger a massive public health crisis. To avoid water contamination, access the Ground Pollution data map to view the pollution surrounding the Sewage Outflow Pipe. Ground pollution spreads beyond the utility, but eventually stops—you don’t need to worry about ground pollution spreading over a vast area.

But no matter how crowded your city is, it’s a good idea to keep some open space around the Sewage Outflow Pipe. This allows ground pollution to spread without serious consequences.

Sewage Treatment Plant

• Cost: 64,000
• Operational Cost: 400 per hour
• Maximum Sewage Treatment Rate: 52.5 kgal/hr
• Maximum Sewage Flow Rate: 70.5 kgal/hr
• Ground Pollution Output: None
• Prerequisites:
• Town Hall in the region.
• Town Hall upgraded to a City Hall in the region.
• Department of Utilities in the region.
• Description: What kind of civilized city dumps their waste into a field? Clean that sewage before disposing of it with this Sewage Treatment Plant. If you don’t want a sewage spill, be mindful of its capacity!

If reducing ground pollution is a concern, and it should be, build the Sewage Treatment Plant as soon as possible—you’ll need a Department of Utilities in the region first. Unlike the Sewage Outflow Pipe, this facility treats raw sewage in massive treatment tanks, removing all waste and contaminants.

When functioning properly, the Sewage Treatment Plant produces no ground pollution, returning treated water to the water table. But if the facility loses power or water, is understaffed, or reaches capacity, raw sewage may spill from the tanks, creating ground pollution.

Keep a close eye on this facility to ensure it’s functioning properly. Click on the building to open its information window. Here you can see the current capacity of the facility. Hard data is also displayed showing the total amount of sewage processed, including sewage that has been treated and untreated. If any amount of processed sewage is going untreated, consider adding an additional Sewage Treatment Tank.

Once your Sewage Treatment Plant is functioning, remember to turn off or bulldoze your old Sewage Outflow Pipes to stop polluting the ground.

Modules

Sewage Treatment Tank

• Cost: 40,000
• Operational Cost: 200 per hour
• Maximum Sewage Treatment Rate: 52.5 kgal/hr
• Maximum Modules: 7 (one comes with base)
• Ground Pollution Output: None
• Description: Ew! Holds even more sewage water! Increase your Sewage Treatment Plant’s capacity, so it doesn’t overflow with human waste.