It always helps to know about things we use everyday, and a septic tank is a perfect example of something used by everyone that, generally speaking, we don’t really know much about. Actually, at a time when waste management and recycling is all the rage, the septic tank teaches us a pertinent lesson about how undesirable effects of an inevitable process can be manipulated for our benefit.

One thing is for sure: we need them to work! The thought of a sewage mishap is disturbing to everyone for a lot of reasons, all of which are easy to understand. It stinks. But it’s not only a sensory problem. The fact is sewage contains hazardous bacteria in it that can contaminate whatever ecosystem with which it comes into contact. In short, it’s a serious health hazard.

A septic tank is used mostly, but not exclusively, in rural areas, where one system connecting all the houses wouldn’t make sense because they are so spread out.

A septic tank is a massive tank buried below the grass and out of sight. In all, the tank can hold four thousand litres of water. On either side of the tank are two pipes, one incoming and one outgoing. Inside the tank, as the contents from one pipe arrives, three layers form. On top is a scum level, where all the waste that’s lighter than water goes, below that is a water level, and on the bottom of it all is the sledge made up of particles heavier than water. The pipes actually only interact with the water layer, which is actually quite clear of solid objects and contains nutrients and bacteria, making it similar to fertilizer.

As bacteria in the wastewater, it produces an odorous gas. To prevent the smell from entering the home through sinks, an ingenious contraption is used known as a “p trap”. This is a loop which holds water, which sufficiently keeps the smells at bay by redirecting the gas out the “vent pipe”. The vent pipe is what it sounds like: a tube that emerges out of the roof like a chimney (but smaller) with the sole purpose of venting this smell.

The septic tank buried beneath the yard can contain only so much water, and as new water comes in the old water goes somewhere. This place is called the drain field”. Basically, there is another whole dug deep (about six feet). The bottom two to three feet is covered in gravel, and above that is dirt. The waste water arrives from perforated pipes on a downwardly tilted angle. In this way, the water uses gravity to gradually release itself from the pipes and into the layers of gravel and dirt above. In fact, because the water layer is bereft of scum and sledge, the ground above it benefits from the nutrients. It’s hard to believe that a field can grow from the disposal of such wastes, but such is the wonder of septic tanks!

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Category: Home Management
Keywords: plumbing, water, business,service, licensed plumber, home management, repair, drain, pipe, fixture