Those leaks are 99.9% one way.

That way being 'sewage leaking into the ecosystem '?

Followed by ecosystem being collected and put back into drinking water, most of which only has pretty lightweight treatment which doesn't even involve testing for any viruses which have snuck through.

▲

likpok 5 days ago | parent | next [-]

The pipes are pressurized, so I would expect there to be limited avenue for infiltration. (Also, for sewage exposure, you’d need two leaks close together. Not impossible or anything, but much less likely.

	▲	closewith 4 days ago \| parent [-]
		Most of the world relies on drinking water collected from rivers downstream of other inhabited areas, so the impact of pollutants like sewage entering the watercourse does not have to enter a leaky water system to have a disastrous impact.

▲

bluGill 4 days ago | parent | prev [-]

Most of the time the local soil is well able to purify the small amount that leaks. Most is key, see and expert on your local conditions for details.