What is a sanitary sewer? And is this where runoff water goes after entering the storm drain?

One reason for asking is that I want to etch my driveway with acid to clean it, but I don't want the runoff to contaminate the neighborhood's retention ponds. I'm hoping that the runoff goes into the sewer and not into the ponds.

Answer:
Since whatever gets on your driveway will end up in the retention pond, maybe you should neutralize the acid with baking soda. You could ask the acid manufacturer how much soda do you need to neutralize each jug full of acid after you paint it on the driveway.

Its good that you are conscientious enough to even inquire about this first by the way. Most people would just hose the acid off and forget it.
nope just the opposite storm drains go to the retention ponds.
A sanitary sewer drains into your municipality's water treatment system, not into runoff areas like drainage ponds. It's meant for sewage and "gray water" from your home. The sewer line that leads from your home's basement into the sewer system is a sanitary sewer.

Runoff from a storm drain (the one in the street, that your driveway drains into) can indeed go directly into runoff areas like a drainage pond.

Anything you wash your driveway with does have the potential to go right into your neighbor's retention ponds. So I'd avoid any toxic chemicals to wash it...
The sanitary sewer is what connects to the bathrooms in your house. In some locations it's combined with the storm sewer (generally older cities), in some it's separate.

But, if the storm sewer is separate, it usually means it goes directly into a local body of water. Depending on where you are you could kill a lot of fish, maybe wipe out an ecosystem.

It may not be an appealing prospect, and you may not like the answer; but still I'd call your local municipal government to ask their advice.
The sewer is what the toilet and sinks in your house drain into. The storm drains along the road are a totally separate system. The sewer (sanitary sewer just means sewer) empties into a treatment plant. The storm drain just empties directly into the nearest river untreated.
What's a sanitary sewer? It's an oxymoron.

*rimshot*

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