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Sewage is the water found in sewers. It can be a mixture of water which has been used for a variety of purposes in the home, at work or in leisure activities, rainwater from roads and water used for business purposes.

On average each of us generates between 135 and 180 litres of sewage each day.

Sewerage is the network of sewers, pipes and pumps that lie unseen beneath virtually every street and road. Sewers carry sewage from where it is produced to the sewage treatment works to be treated and cleaned.

The sewerage systems can be either combined, which carries both sewage and rain water and seperate systems which carry them separately.

Sewage treatment works are designed to remove things that could harm the environment, so that the water can be returned to a river or the sea. At all points along the way the water is continously tested and monitored to ensure the right amount of chemicals are being added and that it is clean enough to be returned to the environment.

Even with emergency overflows there are occasions when problems in the sewerage network, or torrential rainfall, cause flooding. If you do experience flooding please contact us on the freephone floodline number, we're here to help. Northumbrian Water's Freephone Floodline - 0800 328 7648. For more information on our policies and procedures, visit the sewer flooding section.

People tend to use sewers to dispose of all sorts of solid rubbish and unwanted liquids, which can cause blockages and flooding as well as problems at the sewage treatment works. There are many substances which are put into sewers which shouldn't be there. Please read our helpful sewer dont’s for more tips on how to help your sewage network. Our grease monkey campaign highlighted the benefits of disposing of your waste responsibly and only allowing waste into the sewer that the sewer was designed to remove.