Dictionary

1% POO – sewage is composed of used or waste water, objects that have been “mistakenly” or “accidentally” flushed or poured down a drain such as food scraps, litter, cotton buds, wet wipes, toys, dentures, chemicals and fat, oils & grease, as well as soaps and detergents, wee and poo which really only makes up 1% when you consider the fact that all drains in your house converge in the collective sewer system

A

ACID – a substance water-soluble with a pH less than 7 and sour, sharp, or biting to the taste

AIR – invisible gaseous substance, a mixture mainly of oxygen and nitrogen

ANAEROBIC DIGESTER – an oxygen free tank where poo, food waste, f.o.g. and organic matter are digested and broken down to produce bio solids

ANOSMIA – loss of sense of smell

AROMATIC – having aroma, a noticeable strong smell with a distinctive quality

B

BACK WASH – clean a filter by reversing the flow

BARBIE DOLLS – their legs to be specific have been found in sewage after been flushed accidentally or purposely down a drain

BIO REACTOR – a tank or vat in which living microorganisms break down poo, f.o.g., food waste and other organic matter into bio solids

BIO SOLIDS – the result of separating poo, f.o.g., food scraps and other organic matter from waste water and recycling it into manure for agriculture purposes

BIO WASTE – composed of organic matter (sewage) and biodegradables

BITTER – taste sensations that are peculiarly acrid, astringent, and often disagreeable, distasteful and distressing to the mind. Marked by intensity and accompanied by severe pain and suffering

B.O. – Body Odor

C

CESSPOOL – an underground container for the temporary storage of liquid waste and sewage

CITY SMELLS – the smells of industry mingling with that of shit and unwashed bodies

CLARIFIER – settling tanks built with mechanical means for removing solids continuously so they can be deposited for sedimentation

CONFINED SPACE – an enclosed space, a vat or tank that is designed primarily for the containment of sewage

CORRUPTION – the process of putrefaction

COTTON BUDS – or swap or q-tip or whatsoever you would call them, consists of one or two small wads of cotton wrapped around a short rod of wood or paper or plastic, they are not flushable. I repeat not flushable! As they are small it makes processing of sewage a difficult task

COUNTRY SMELLS – manure

D

DECAY – Organic matter to rot, to decompose, to deteriorate through the action of bacteria and fungi

DELICATE NOSE – having a low tolerance for stench

DENTURES – accidentally flushed down drains and apparently people call up and ask for them back, I can understand why considering how expensive dentists are but at the same time I won’t

DEODORIZATION – to eliminate, to prevent offensive odors

DISINFECTION – the chemical process of cleaning something

DO NOT DRINK (THE WATER) – on safety signs near grates and tapes at Cronulla Sewerage Treatment Plant

DON THE BUS DRIVER – this should be self explanatory

DUNG – another word for manure, plural dungs

E

EFFLUENT – liquid waste or sewage discharged into a river or the sea.

EFFLUVIOUS – to be odorous

EMANATIONS – vapours, gases and scents that radiate from a source

“ENVIRONMENT” – once sewage is processed it is reclaimed effluent, also known as recycled water and ready to be released back into the environment, which by the way is your local beach

EXCREMENT – shit from the bowels, a sample of fresh stool

EXCRETA – waste discharge from the body, faeces and urine

EXHALATION – the process or action of exhaling an vapour or fumes given off by something

F

FAECES – another word of shit

FERMENT – to change chemically through the action of living substance, such as yeast or bacteria

FETID – smelling extremely unpleasant

FETID MIRE – foul smelling, soft muddy ground

F.O.G – fats, oils and grease that shouldn’t be poured down your sink. Not down the sink!

FOOD WASTE – food scraps, there is a bin or better yet a compost for that

FOUL AIR – The stink of shit lingering in the air

FOUL – offensive to the sense, considered wicked or immoral; to make foul is to pollute

H

HARMLESS SALT – salt is the last stage in the processing used at Cronulla Sewerage Treatment Plant

HEAVY SCENTS – strong scents

HUMAN IMPACT – Our impact on the environment, whether it be littering or shit or our other more destructive habits of mining, drilling and deforestation

HUMAN SWAMP – the stench of a crowd in a confined space

I

INDIVIDUAL ATMOSPHERE – B.O. – BODY ODOR – INDIVIDUAL SCENT – variations according to age, diet, climate and profession, reveals individuality

INFECTION – the process of infecting or the state of being infected

“IT’S A BIT OF A HIKE” – to walk through the Sewerage Treatment Plant

M

MALODOROUS – mal-odor-ous, having an unpleasant smell

MANURE – polite animal shit, primarily used as fertiliser for the garden and crops

MEPHITIC – noxious, foul smelling gassy vapours

MIASMA – an unpleasant, unhealthy and oppressive smelling vapourous atmosphere which surrounds and emanates from something (stagnant dirty water)

MUD CAKE – what sewage l ooks like once processed into bio solids

MUST FACE LADDER WHEN DESCENDING – on safety signs next to ladders at Cronulla Sewerage Treatment Plant (as if that wasn’t common sense…)

N

NOXIOUS – harmful, poisonous, or very unpleasant

O

ODOR – a lingering distinctive smell, especially of the unpleasant sort

ODOR CONTROL DRIVE – the first road, the driveway into Cronulla Sewerage Treatment Plant

ODOR STATUS – your scent supposedly reveals your position in the class system heirarchy

ODORIFEROUS – emitting an odor, especially an unpleasant one

OLFACTORY – to smell, the olfactory nerve carries impulses for the sense of smell from the nose to the brain

OLFACTORY FATIGUE – the inability to distinguish a particular odor after a prolonged exposure to that airborne compound

OSPHRESIOLOGY – the study odors and the sense of smell

P

PERSPIRATION – the process of sweating (or a fancy word for sweat itself!)

POIGNANT – designed to make an impression

POLITICS OF POO – the consequence of the privatisation and domestication of human waste, body politics and the santisation of language

PONG – a powerful disagreeable smell

POWERFUL SCENT – a strong scent with a kick to it!

PRIVATE SMELLS – individual, family, house hold; specifically bathroom, kitchen and laundry stenches

PROBE – to search into closely, to poke or examine, a slender instrument of exploring poo

PUBLIC SMELLS – refers to the stench of the crowd and of public rooms crowded with people; the stenches of bars, hospitals, schools, military, sailors and prisons.

PUNGENT – to cause a sharp, irritating sensation with an intense flavour or odor

PUTREFACTION – the process of decay, of rotting in a body and other organic matter

PUTRID – describes the smell that characterizes rotting organic matter

PUTRID THRONG – a large, densely packed crowd  

R

RANCID – smelling or tasting unpleasant as a result of being old and stale “rancid meat”

RECLAIMED EFFLUENT – effluent is liquid discharged as waste and to reclaim it is to go through the processes of recycling and refining

REDOLENT – strong suggestive smells

REEKING – smelling strongly and suggestive of something undesirable

REFUSE – the worthless, useless part of something; trash, waste

RENEWABLE WALK – the first footpath within the Cronulla Sewerage Treatment Plan

REPULSIVE – arousing intense distaste and disgust

S

SANITATION – use of sanitary measures to maintain public health, the drainage and disposal of sewage. Sterling, sanitation, cleaning, cleansing, cleanup, hygienic

SANITISATION – to omit unpleasant details to make more acceptable. Propaganda of Poop

SCENT – describes a characteristic of smells

SCRAPER ARM – in the sedimentation tanks there are two long scraper arms one at the top and one at the bottom, once the sewage settles the scraper arms work to remove the sludge and scum

SCREENINGS – the process of removing solid objects from sewage; such as wet wipes, barbie doll legs and dentures

SEDIMENTATION – the stage in the treatment where the sewage is tanked and allowed to settle into its discreet sections

SYSTEM OF PERCEPTIONS – the sense, one being the sense of smell

SEPTIC – To be infected with microorganisms, especially harmful bacteria and/or a drainage system that incorporates a septic tank

SEPTIC TANK – a tank, typically underground, in which sewage is collected and allowed to decompose through bacterial activity before draining by means of a soakaway

SEWAGE – waste water and 1% poo, which in polite society is called effluent

SEWER – the underground infrastructure of pipes, manholes, pumping stations, drains, tanks, confined spaces and sewage treatment plants for the transportation of used water and waste.

SEWERAGE – the infrastructure, the proper system for regulating waste

SHARP – affecting the senses intensely with a strong, distinct odor or flavor

SHIT – waste matter discharged from the bowels, excrement, faeces

SLUDGE – WATER – SCUM – in the sedimentation stage of sewage treatment where the sewage is allowed to settle into its discreet sections with sludge at the top, water in the middle and scum at the bottom

SMELL – the faculty of perceiving odours  by means of the organs in the nose; a quality in something that is perceived by the faculty of smell, an odour or scent

SOLID STREET – the second road within the Cronulla Sewerage Treatment Plant

SOUR – having the acid taste and smell of fermentation, of decay; sour breath

STAGNATION – the state of not flowing or moving

STEEPING – to soak, saturate in liquid

STENCH – a powerful unpleasant, lingering smell

STENCHES OF THE EARTH – stagnant water, corpses, carcasses

STINGING – to cause to suffer acutely

STINK – the tenses of stink: stink; stinks; stank; stinking and stunk. To have a strong unpleasant smell, that is regarded with disapproval (scandalous stinks!); a stench that is contemptible, corrupt and corrupting

STRONG SCENTS – heavy scents

SWEAT – moisture exuded through the pores of the skin, typically in profuse quantities as a reaction to heat, physical exertion, fever, or fear.

T

TERTIARY LANE – the third road within the Cronulla Sewerage Treatment Plant

‘THE BASEMENT ODOR’ – the so called stench of servants

TURD – another word for shit, an obnoxious lump of excrement

V

VAPOUR – a gaseous substance diffused, suspended in the air

VORTEX – a whirling mass of fluid or air, a whirlpool, a whirlwind

VILE – wickedly unpleasant

VIRULENT – highly infective and harmful in its effects

W

WALKING DUNGHILLS – insulting reference to 1800s stereotype of the unwashed masses and those whose profession required them to work with waste

WASTE WATER – politically correct sewage

WET WIPES – a small disposable cloth treated with cleansing agent for personal hygiene, not flushable regardless of what the packaging wants you to think

WHIFF – WHIFFS – WHIFFED – WHIFFING – is a smell or smells that are only briefly, faintly sniffed, a lingering scent or the act of sniffing or inhaling the trace of a scent