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Effluent comes from the Latin verb effluere, "to flow out". In an older meaning, an effluent was a stream flowing out of a river or lake. But nowadays effluent almost always means wastes that pour into our water and air. Liquid factory waste, smoke, and raw sewage can all be called effluents. An effluent filter keeps treated waste flowing out of a septic tank from clogging up its drainage pipes.
Examples of effluent in a Sentence
Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 11 Apr. 2024
Making the best use of other water sources, whether effluent or spill deliveries, helps preserve the aquifer.
—The Arizona Republic, 29 Jan. 2024
Near Marana, effluent discharges started around the 1970s, but poor treatment made the water too rich and low in oxygen for many species to establish.
—The Arizona Republic, 21 July 2023
Sea rise also is pushing the island’s groundwater closer to the surface, allowing the cesspool effluent to mix with the water table and flow into the ocean.
—Audrey McAvoy, Anchorage Daily News, 10 July 2023
The program can extend awareness about the existence and value of the Santa Cruz River, Bogan said, even when the flow depends on clean effluent discharges.
—The Arizona Republic, 21 July 2023
Marin County and Sewer Authority Mid-Coastside, the sewage district that includes the city of Half Moon Bay, started testing samples of their community effluent for signs of the drugs in February and November, respectively.
—Catherine Ho, San Francisco Chronicle, 17 Mar. 2023
Unless the farms are a closed system, effluent from fish pens will pollute the surrounding waters.
—Chris Mooney, Discover Magazine, 22 Jan. 2010
These efforts resulted in restoration of effluent permit compliance by June 10th.
—Carlos R. Muñoz, BostonGlobe.com, 8 Mar. 2023
Connor Giffin, The Courier-Journal, 23 Jan. 2024
Sources of this bacteria include wastewater treatment plant effluent, stormwater runoff and sewage discharge, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
—Tammy Murga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Nov. 2023
Barbara Kemmis, executive director of CANA, said the effluent is sterile.
—Sarah Bowman, The Indianapolis Star, 25 Jan. 2024
The Phase Two community, Johnson Bodine explained, has six lakes that use effluent, or reclaimed, water.
—Shawn Raymundo, The Arizona Republic, 2 Mar. 2024
The Akwesasne Mohawk reservation straddles the border between New York and Canada and sits along the St. Lawrence River, which, for generations, carried effluents from nearby industrial sites, contaminating everything from local food to breast milk.
—Jay Caspian Kang, The New Yorker, 26 Feb. 2024
The effluent, reported by the company in 2019 to have detectable levels of aluminum, nickel, antimony and fluoride, was approved for discharge into an unnamed tributary of the Ohio River.
—Connor Giffin, The Courier-Journal, 23 Jan. 2024
Many of its rivers are ecologically dead, killed by untreated industrial effluents and domestic sewage.
—Ramachandra Guha, Foreign Affairs, 20 Feb. 2024
The team had dug a trench from the drill site and was pouring oils and effluent into the pristine alpine lake.
—Ian Max Stevenson, Idaho Statesman, 11 Aug. 2022
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'effluent.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Effluent.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/effluent. Accessed 24 Apr. 2024.
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