Back when sanitary sewers were first becoming standard fare in the US, flows were low and standard designs were minimal.Therefore, it was a common practice to "FLUSH" sewers, especially where the sewers had an unfavorable combination of low slope and low tributary sewage flow.

Flushing manholes were installed at the start of sewage mains. These would facilitate periodic flushing of the sewer mains. The public potable water, tidal water, and storage tanks that held supernate from the sewage were used as the flushing water source. A relatively large volume of water was accumulated and then released into the sewer main.

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