Because we live so far out from the city, we don't have city water or city sewer.......our water comes from a well.....luckily ours is a great well and the stream it hit isn't high in iron or anything......it goes through a filter in the house and is safe for drinking (although we don't) and safe for using in cooking etc etc.......water pressure is good too :) the well works great and when the temperature gets below -20c we just switch on a lightbulb thats down the well and thats enough to keep the pipe down there unfrozen.
For sewage we have a septic system.........this means that all our waste (from toilets, washing machine, bath etc etc.......) goes through pipes into a tank under the ground which is in the woods near our house.................
This tank is concrete I think and has two sections separated by a wall that doesn't quite meet the top........waste goes into one side where it kind of sits until it dissolves into the water and flows over the separating wall bit into the other side of the tank...this watery waste then goes through a pipe that allows the watery stuff to seep out into the soil..................
Needless to say the trees in that part of the woods are very healthy....very fertile soil :)
It doesn't reall smell......occasionally if you walk down at the very bottom of our yard you get a slight whiff of something...............but it isn't foul smelling......................
Every 8 months we have a company come out with their tanker and they suck out the tank of all the main waste that hasn't dissolved in that way and they empty it out.....then I have to flush the toilets and run the taps to get some water into the system again and its all done :)
Simple :)
You have to be careful what you put down the toilet....tissue has to be septic system safe and thats about all you can put down........but we aren't too careful about amounts......and we flush for pee and poo :) some people say if its yellow let it mellow if its brown fluch it down...but I like to flush each time :)
We use a lot of water.....baths, showers, washing machine etc etc.........but thats actually a good thing because it keeps the septic system working well :)
In the pictures above you can see the truck down by the septic system........the area where the system is with its healthy trees, Abigail watching...and also the slogan on the truck that my kids love.........'You Dump - We Pump'..................
I totally recommend this company if you need one in this area.......it was the same man that came last time and he's great...answers all your questions and doesn't look at you as though you are crazy when you ask silly things :) $120.
