Down the Drain (Sung to the tune "Oh Me, Oh My!" by Raffi)
Onward from there to the settling tank.
by Abigail Stevens
Dear me! Oh no! What will I do?
I just flushed my favorite sock down the toilet.
But I found out, and so will you,
A clogged toilet bowl will make the parents upset.
Maybe, perchance the sock gets through,
I’ll tell you ‘bout its journey to the treatment plant.
Now don’t worry, I’ll sidestep poo.
From here until the end, we’ll call it influent.
Down, down through pipes the sewage goes
Pulled along by gravity and water’s flow.
There’s lots of muck to decompose
At the treatment plant where bacteria grow.
Into the plant goes the influent
Where rakes and screens remove all large objects.
This begins the first treatment
En route to cleansing influent in all respects.
Onward from there to the settling tank.
Solids sink while oils float up to the top.
You can bet the smell is rank.
So some tanks are closed with a cover atop.
Second treatment is rather crude.
It involves small creatures called bacteria,
That eat the waste like its food.
Bubbling tanks become a cafeteria.
Before the third treatment comes,
The gorged bacteria sink down to the bottom.
This occurs in giant drums
Skimmed atop and swept below of all the scum.
One treatment’s left until we’re through.
Here the water filters down through rocks and sand.
Once it’s through, it looks brand new.
The effluent (once influent) waters the land.
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