sewerage

sewerage — noun

1. the network of underground pipes, treatment plants, and equipment that carries a

1.nounB2
Definition

the network of underground pipes, treatment plants, and equipment that carries away and cleans waste water and human waste from homes and businesses

Example

The city council approved a plan to upgrade the sewerage system in the northern district.

collocation: sewerage system

Soraya, the lead engineer, designed a modern sewerage network for the growing coastal town.

Common collocations
  • sewerage system
  • sewerage network
  • sewerage infrastructure
  • public sewerage
  • municipal sewerage
Synonyms
  • sewer system

    more informal and focuses on the pipes themselves rather than the full treatment process

  • drainage system

    broader term that includes surface water drainage beyond just waste water

  • wastewater system

    modern technical term that emphasises the treatment and reclamation process

Usage Note

Used as a modifier before nouns such as 'system', 'network', 'infrastructure', and 'works'. The phrase 'sewerage system' is by far the most common collocation.

Common Mistakes

The plumber fixed the sewerage pipe.
The plumber fixed the sewer pipe.
Individual pipes are called 'sewer pipes', not 'sewerage pipes'; 'sewerage' refers to the whole system.

2. the mixture of human waste, used water, and other substances that flows through

2.nounC1
Definition

the mixture of human waste, used water, and other substances that flows through pipes from buildings and is taken away to be made safe

Example

The treatment plant removes harmful substances from sewerage before releasing the water into the river.

verb + sewerage: treat / remove substances from

Tanvi noticed that raw sewerage was flowing from a damaged pipe behind the old factory.

collocation: raw sewerage

Common collocations
  • raw sewerage
  • untreated sewerage
  • treated sewerage
Synonyms
  • sewage

    the most common everyday word for the same waste material

  • wastewater

    broader term that also includes industrial discharge and surface runoff

  • effluent

    formal, technical term for liquid waste, especially after treatment

Usage Note

Uncountable noun. For the waste itself, 'sewage' is the more common word in everyday speech; 'sewerage' is the formal or technical term.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

'Sewerage' is the formal, comprehensive term for the entire infrastructure that collects, transports, and treats waste water — including pipes, pumping stations, and treatment plants. A 'sewer system' is narrower and more concrete, focusing on the network of pipes themselves without necessarily including treatment. 'Drainage system' is the broadest, covering the removal of both waste water and rainwater through sewers, ditches, and other channels. 'Wastewater system' is a modern, environmentally-focused term that emphasises treatment and reclamation. For example: 'The city's sewerage handles 200 million litres daily' (whole system); 'They repaired a collapsed sewer pipe' (concrete pipe); 'The drainage system flooded after the storm' (rainwater plus waste).

sewer systemdrainage systemwastewater system

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • public sewerage
  • municipal sewerage
  • sewerage and drainage

Prepositions

  • connected to sewerage
  • discharged into sewerage

Etymology

LatinOld FrenchEnglish

Formed by adding the suffix '-age' to 'sewer' (a pipe or channel that carries away waste water). 'Sewer' came into English from Old French 'sewiere' — a channel for draining a fishpond — which came from Latin 'exaquāre', a combination of 'ex-' (out of) and 'aqua' (water). The meaning expanded from a pond drain to any underground pipe for carrying away waste, and 'sewerage' then developed both the 'waste material' sense and the 'system' sense.