Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
A septic drain field, a septic tank, and associated piping compose a septic system. The drain field typically consists of an arrangement of trenches containing perforated pipes and porous material (often gravel ) covered by a layer of soil to prevent animals (and surface runoff ) from reaching the wastewater distributed within those trenches. [ 1 ]
A septic tank is an underground chamber made of concrete, fiberglass, or plastic through which domestic wastewater flows for basic sewage treatment. [2] Settling and anaerobic digestion processes reduce solids and organics, but the treatment efficiency is only moderate (referred to as "primary treatment"). [2]
The mound system includes a septic tank, a dosing chamber, and a mound. Wastes from homes are sent to the septic tank where the solid portion sinks to the bottom of the tank. Effluents are sent to a second tank called a dosing chamber, from which they are distributed to the mound at a metered rate (in doses).
A percolation test (colloquially called a perc test) is a test to determine the water absorption rate of soil (that is, its capacity for percolation) in preparation for the building of a septic drain field (leach field) or infiltration basin. [1] The results of a percolation test are required to design a septic system properly.
In places where infiltration basins or septic drain fields are planned to dispose of substantial amounts of water, a percolation test is needed beforehand to determine whether the intended structure is likely to succeed or fail. In two dimensional square lattice percolation is defined as follows.
If there is a suitable septic tank in place, pumping the effluent from the tank is the lowest cost option for initial costs. Whether the septic tank is the lowest cost option over time depends on the cost of electricity in the area, how often the tank must be emptied and how much it costs to have the solids pumped out of the tank.
This has resulted in large percentages of the population being connected. For example, the Netherlands have 99% of the population connected to the system, and 1% has an individual sewage disposal system or treatment system, e.g., septic tank. Others have slightly lower (although still substantial) percentages; e.g., 96% for Germany.
Night soil is a historically used euphemism for human excreta collected from cesspools, privies, pail closets, pit latrines, privy middens, septic tanks, etc. This material was removed from the immediate area, usually at night, by workers employed in this trade. Sometimes it could be transported out of towns and sold on as a fertilizer.