Typically, a system of sewer pipes linked to form a sewerage system will collect wastewater from around a healthcare facility and carry it below ground to a central location for treatment or disposal. Ths treatment plant may be
located at a health-care facility or some distance away, where it will also provide treatment for the wider community
or municipality. Ths is known as a “central system”. Where a main sewerage system has not been constructed,
wastewater may be collected from medical areas by pipe system and passed into cesspits or septic tanks. Ths is a
“decentralized” collection arrangement, where the wastewater is removed periodically from the pits by a tanker
fited with a sludge pump and taken for treatment and disposal. A decentralized collection and treatment system
is not the preferred approach for health-care facilities.