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Phase 1/2: Subsurface Sewage Disposal
Certification/ Waste Water Intro Exam
London 1800s
- In the mid 1800s, people didn't have running water or modern toilets in their homes. They used town wells and communal pumps to get the water they used for drinking, cooking and washing
- The first cases of cholera in England were reported in 1831.
- This outbreak is best known for the physician John Snow's study of the outbreak and his hypothesis that contaminated water, not air, spread cholera.
- Snow used a map to illustrate how cases of cholera were centered on the pump. He also used statistics to illustrate the connection between the quality of the source of water and cholera cases.
--Removed well pump to stop outbreak
Connecticut in 1917
- State Health Department created
- Enabling legislation for the first Sanitary Code
--Sanitary code didn't talk about sewage
1927 Sanitary Code
- First code on sewage
- All Human waste must be disposed in properly managed sewers, cesspools, treatment tanks or privy vaults.
--No sewage disposal system such as a cesspool, or privy vault can be built within seventy five feet of a well or water source without health officer approval.
--All sewage disposal systems must be maintained to prevent the escape of any odors in order to keep animals and insects away.
--No toilet can be maintained over a stream or the banks of a stream.
--If the waste from the cesspool, or privy system is not disposed of on the owners land. A permit will have to be obtained to determine where and how the materials should be disposed.
Who can issue permits for sewage disposal systems?
Only registered sanitarian or local health director can issue permits
Domestic sewage consists of
- Water and human excretions
o Toilets
o Bathing water
o Cooking and cleaning
o Laundry
- Waste from restaurants and commercial buildings
Pollutants in Domestic Sewage
- Suspended Solids
- Bio-chemical Oxygen Demand (BOD5)
- Total Nitrogen
- Total Phosphates
Phosphate
- Stimulates plant growth (lush green grass or algae growth in surface water)
- Algae blooms
- Readily removed by filtration through only a foot or two of most CT soil types
Coliform Bacteria
- indigenous to the digestive tract of humans and warm-blooded animals
--may not be harmful themselves, but indicates that pathogenic organisms and / or viruses may be present
--viruses are smaller than bacteria and not as easily filtered out
- The presence of even one coliform organism in ground water may be taken as an indicator of possible sewage pollution
Chemical Pollutants in Sewage
- Paints, solvents, refinishing agents, cleaning chemicals, chlorinated hydrocarbons, etc.
- Considered to be hazardous chemicals since they can readily pass thru a septic system and enter the groundwater
- Amount of these chemicals in domestic sewage should be extremely small
Non-Typical Domestic Sewage
- Kitchen wastes - extremely high in grease
--The warmth of the waste with the high detergent level in the waste, tends to keep the grease in an emulsified condition so that it is not easily removed by floatation or settlement in the septic tank
- Grease removal is enhanced by mixing the kitchen wastes with cooler sewage such as toilet wastes
--Waste from a restaurant
- Wastes from garbage disposal systems contain large amounts of settleable solids and therefore the septic tank should be pumped more frequently
--Don't use a garbage disposal if you have a septic tank
- Laundry wastes high in phosphates, clothing fibers, oils and bacteria shed from the body
--Clog soil because of lint so is it good to get some type of filtration system for lint removal ahead of the septic tank
Septics vs Sewers
- Low density - towns wish to remain rural
- Sewers too costly in rural areas
- The goal - avoid groundwater pollution
- Typically cause less pollution
- Cost effective with proper maintenance
Methods of Sewage Disposal
- Public Sewers
- Conventional "Septic Systems"
- Alternative or Advanced Treatment Systems
Public Sewers
- Serves approximately 60 percent of the CT population
Distribution Piping
- Consists of the piping leading from the septic tank to the leaching system.
How does the Leaching System Work?
- Effluent from the septic tank is directed to the leaching system by the distribution piping
- A layer of biological slime is formed on the interface between the soil and the leaching system surface (BIOMAT)
--Provides treatment and slows down movement into the soil.
GeoMat Flat
· Leaching system only an inch thick that gets rolled out
· For very high water tables
Who regulates sewage systems in CT?
- Ct department of Energy and environmental Protection (DEEP)
- Local and State Department of Public Health
