Approximate diagram of a dacha sewage system
Very often, the problematic part of autonomous sewage systems in suburban areas is the disposal of wastewater and cottage water treatment systems. A cesspool that poorly imitates a modern septic tank often leads to irreversible contamination of the aquifer of the second horizon, through which water intake is most often carried out from a shallow sand well or a dug well.
An ideal option for wastewater treatment could be a fully insulated storage tank made of fiberglass or polyethylene, which eliminates the possibility of wastewater entering the environment. However, this is hardly an acceptable option, as the tank needs to be regularly cleaned of waste. This is costly and inconvenient. Moreover, for a comfortable life for a family of several people, a very large capacity tank is required. These are significant problems both at the installation stage and during operation.
The most economically advantageous and promising solution for the disposal of sewage is a septic tank. This is a convenient and fully autonomous system that requires no maintenance and does not depend on power supply. Today, septic tank at the dacha is the most acceptable and most demanded water treatment method for autonomous sewage.
In a septic tank, a typical anaerobic process for soil occurs. A septic tank consists of two or more plastic tanks connected by overflows for contaminated wastewater. In them, fractional stratification of the wastewater occurs, followed by bacterial treatment. Periodically, the heaviest fraction of waste – silty sediment – must be pumped out from the first tank. The settled lighter part of the wastewater flows by gravity into the next tanks, where decomposition occurs with the help of bacteria. Treated water from the last tank is pumped by a drainage pump into drainage fields or treatment wells for further purification. To activate bio-treatment, special bacteria that accelerate the process are added to septic tanks.
The design and required volume of the septic tank should be selected individually, based on the number of family members, the number of plumbing fixtures, and the features of the site. An optimal option can be selected for any conditions. It is best to focus on the design monthly volume of wastewater, but choose a system with a small margin.
_