Every home produces wastewater. The water is produced through washing, bathing and flushing of the toilet. Before being released back into the environment, the water that is produced must undergo wastewater treatment.
If you home does not have a connection to a public sewage disposal system, you must have an onsite treatment system. Typically this is handled through use of septic tanks. The tank breaks down organic waste and allows treated wastewater to flow back into the aquifers.
Septic tanks depend on helpful bacterial to dissolve many of the solid wastes that enter into the tank. Solids that the bacteria cannot break down may settle to the bottom of the tank as a sludge layer or rise to the top to form a scum layer. The scum layer may include fats and oils that were not broken down while the sludge layer consists of materials that are heavier than water. A grease trap interceptor can remove some of the fats before they enter the tank. A water layer separates the scum and sludge.
Water is forced out of the tank every time more water comes inside. When you flush 2.8 gallons down the toilet, 2.8 gallons exit the tank. In a gravity flow system the water that exits the tank flows to the drain field where it slowly leaches into the ground. With a pump system, the water goes into a holding tank with a pump. When the water reaches a certain level the pump moves the water to the drain field. A after a set amount of water moves to the field, the pump turns off and waits to fill to the level to turn the pump on again.
The gravel and earth in the drain field filter the water as it travels back to into the ground water tables. An efficient septic system only allows purified water to reach back into the ground water and has no flow on top of the ground. This prevents the contaminates from polluting the surface water.
If you live near a stream, river, lake or ocean, it is very important that your septic system be working correctly. An incorrectly working system can and phosphates and nitrates to the water. These chemicals can cause an increase in some of the microorganisms that grow in the water and could lead to a fish kill.
The sludge and scum that accumulate in a septic system lower its working volume. A grease interceptor can slow the accumulation. Regular septic pumping keeps these accumulations from accumulating and increases the working volume of the tank. If the scum layer is allowed to get too thick, it may eventually get into the drain field and cause it to fail.
Onsite wastewater treatment can be accomplished using septic systems. A well designed system that is working system can prevent contamination of both ground and surface waters. A system that is not properly maintained can allow bacteria to contaminate local wells as well as streams, lakes, rivers and oceans. Regular maintenance of the system can also prevent costly replacement.
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