In order to know the meaning of the term cloaca, it is necessary, first of all, to discover its etymological origin. In this case, we can highlight that it is a word that derives from Latin, exactly from “cloaca”, which can be translated as “drain”.
The term sewer can be used to refer to the tube where the water with household waste is sent. These conduits are installed underground and are connected to household pipes that allow the evacuation of so-called wastewater.
The sewers meet in a main collector that allows these waters to be transferred to a purification plant or to the place of final discharge. It is important that the conduits are projected with a certain slope so that the waters flow by the law of gravity.
This inclination, however, should not be too pronounced since, if the fluids move at high speed, the sewers could erode. It is essential, on the other hand, that the joints are hermetic to prevent seepage and access of rainwater.
It is common for sewers to be blocked or obstructed by the accumulation of elements that are thrown by people improperly. However, throwing any object into a sewer is usually prohibited by law.
It should be noted that, by extension, any place or item that is very dirty or unpleasant is known as a sewer. For example: “I am not going to stay overnight in this sewer”, “The restaurant in front of the square is a sewer”.
In addition to all the above, we cannot forget an important audiovisual work that responds to the title of “The sewers of the State”. It is an 80-minute documentary made in Spain by journalists such as Carlos Enrique Bayo and Patricia López that unravels a series of alleged irregularities, illegalities and even corruption that took place within the Ministry of the Interior.
It took nine months of investigative work to make that aforementioned documentary, directed by Jaume Roures and with a script by Jaume Grau, which has the testimonies of policemen or officials of the aforementioned ministry.
In the literary field we find, for example, the book “Las cloacas del 11-M”. Ignacio López Bru is the author of this work, published in 2013, which deals with one of the most important tragedies that Spain has suffered in its history. We are referring to the serious terrorist attacks of March 11, 2004.
This work makes it clear that there are still many aspects of that fact that are still “in the air”, without reaching the general public, because the higher spheres of power have done everything possible to hide them and so that not all is known the truth.
In zoology, the final section of the intestine of reptiles, birds and other animals is called the cloaca. In this cavity, through which waste is expelled, the urinary and genital ducts also open.
