Beneath your neighborhood there's a maze of pipes weaving to and from your property, all for different purposes. Let's take a look!
Stormwater Pipe System: Some areas of the City have piped stormwater systems (as opposed to stormwater ditches). These drains take rain water from the street to a nearby pond, river or canal which all eventually leads to the ocean. A water treatment plant is not involved in this process. Everything that goes down the drain eventually reaches a major body of water, making stormwater pollution a major problem when it comes to the health of our local waterways. The Public Works Department is in charge of maintaining stormwater systems.
Sanitary Sewer System: This piped system is completely separate from stormwater systems. Waste water from your house (aka, anything that goes down the drain or is flushed down the toilet) heads to a local treatment plant where it is cleaned up and sent back out into the wild. The Public Utilities Department works with the Hampton Roads Sanitation District to manage the sanitary sewer systems.
Drinking Water System: The water you use to drink and clean each day comes to you from a water treatment plant. The Public Utilities Department does a great job providing clean, safe water for us to drink.
So you see that while these are all piped systems, they are all separate and provide different services.