"In hundreds of U.S. cities and towns, extreme rainfalls are overwhelming outdated sewer systems, flooding waterways with untreated sewage."

"Although raw sewage and gastrointestinal illnesses are rarely topics broached in polite conversation, they’re having a glaring impact in hundreds of towns and cities in the United States. The risk of acute gastrointestinal illness increases by up to 62% after certain kinds of sewer overflows, according to recent research led by a team at the School of Public Health at Boston University.

And with increasing extreme rainfall events in the forecast, climate change could make the problem worse.

So how does sewage treatment affect digestive health, and what does climate change have to do with it all? The answers start with how your community manages its sewers."

Kait Parker reports for Yale Climate Connections August 8, 2024. [2]