Effluent quality from 200 on-site sewage systems: design values for guidelines

Charles, Katrina; Ashbolt, Nicholas J.; Roser, David; McGuinness, R.; Deere, Daniel

doi:10.2166/wst.2005.0363

Cited by 34 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…Surveys indicate that at least 20 % of these systems are malfunctioning; over half of all US septic systems are over 30-yr old (US EPA, 2005). Old and improperly maintained systems are prone to failure and provide inadequate conditions for the effluent treatment processes including physical filtration, surface adsorption, sedimentation, and inactivation of the contaminants in the soil (Canter, 1997;Charles et al, 2005). Leachate from septic systems has been identified as a major potential source of groundwater contamination with nitrate, pharmaceutically active compounds (PhACs), endocrine active substances (EAS), other household chemicals, as well as pathogens such as bacteria, viruses, helminths, and protozoa (Perkins, 1984;US EPA, 1998, 2002aGerba and James, 2005;Carroll et al, 2006;Fong et al, 2007;Stanford et al, 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Domestic wells have high probability of pumping septic tank leachate

Bremer

Harter

2012

Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci.

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Abstract. Onsite wastewater treatment systems are common in rural and semi-rural areas around the world; in the US, about 25-30 % of households are served by a septic (onsite) wastewater treatment system, and many property owners also operate their own domestic well nearby. Site-specific conditions and local groundwater flow are often ignored when installing septic systems and wells. In areas with small lots (thus high spatial septic system densities), shallow domestic wells are prone to contamination by septic system leachate. Mass balance approaches have been used to determine a maximum septic system density that would prevent contamination of groundwater resources. In this study, a source area model based on detailed groundwater flow and transport modeling is applied for a stochastic analysis of domestic well contamination by septic leachate. Specifically, we determine the probability that a source area overlaps with a septic system drainfield as a function of aquifer properties, septic system density and drainfield size. We show that high spatial septic system density poses a high probability of pumping septic system leachate. The hydraulic conductivity of the aquifer has a strong influence on the intersection probability. We find that mass balance calculations applied on a regional scale underestimate the contamination risk of individual drinking water wells by septic systems. This is particularly relevant for contaminants released at high concentrations, for substances that experience limited attenuation, and those that are harmful even at low concentrations (e.g., pathogens).

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Domestic wells have high probability of pumping septic tank leachate

Bremer

Harter

2012

Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci.

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“…In a study of 200 septic tanks in Australia, Charles et al [36] found that septic wastewaters were much stronger than expected, leading to poor plant performance. They proposed that the 80th percentile concentration of septic tank effluent be adopted as the design value for sizing secondary treatment units to prevent overloading.…”

Section: Parameter Phmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of full-scale vertical peat biofilters for treatment of septic tank effluents

Gray

Coady

2014

International Journal of Environmental Studies

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“…Numerous studies have been carried out concerning SFVDF systems in the field of ODWT in order to determine their behaviour and the characteristics of the materials to be used in order to obtain good sewage treatment performance (Bruen and Piluk, 1994;Chabaud et al, 2006a;Charles et al, 2005;Jayarathne et al, 2007;Jenssen and Siegrist, 1990;Rolland, 2009;Wanko et al, 2005;Whitehead and Geary, 2000).…”

Section: Context and Objectivesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Diagnosis of domestic wastewater sand filters

Breul¹,

Bouteldja²,

Boissier³

et al. 2013

Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers - Water Manag

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On-site domestic wastewater treatment (ODWT) systems are receiving renewed interest due to their simplicity of implementation, affordability and efficiency. The most widespread ODWT system is the sand filter with vertical drained flow (SFVDF). To optimise the design and maintenance of SFVDFs, it is important to be able to check the conformity of the installations, judge their treatment performance in service and estimate possible evolution and life expectancy. As yet, however, no methodology has been developed to perform these tasks. This paper proposes a new methodology for diagnosing SFVDF systems in service. The development of this methodology relies on the development of on-site characterisation of the filtering material based on the use of a light dynamic penetration test and image processing. From this, the paper proposes an automatic tool for detecting the presence of clogging in a filter and a methodology to estimate the hydraulic conductivity of the filtering material without destroying the filter.The global methodology for diagnosing SFVDF systems is presented and illustrated for a real case in order to demonstrate its advantages and efficiency.

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Effluent quality from 200 on-site sewage systems: design values for guidelines

Cited by 34 publications

References 2 publications

Domestic wells have high probability of pumping septic tank leachate

Domestic wells have high probability of pumping septic tank leachate

Evaluation of full-scale vertical peat biofilters for treatment of septic tank effluents

Diagnosis of domestic wastewater sand filters

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