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Home Is Beach Buy this Wall Tapestry at AllPosters.com
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Septic Tank Systems in a Nutshell By Roger Jarrell |
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Septic
Tanks are used by most homes on the Outer Banks to control sewage. Since
many people have moved here from areas that use a central sewage system,
this type of sewage processing may be unfamiliar to them. I hope the following
information about home septic systems and the steps needed to keep them
working properly will be of some value to the reader, save you money and
help make the Outer banks a healthier and cleaner place for all of us
to live and visit. |
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The
most common residential wastewater treatment system used on the Outer
Banks is the septic tank-soil absorption system. How does this system
work? All of the wastewater in a home flows into an underground septic
tank. The septic tank is designed to separate solids (sludge) from water.
The remaining wastewater then enters the drain field where it is filtered
and distributed throughout the soil. Removing sludge from the wastewater protects the drain field from clogging and failure. In addition to removing the sludge, the septic tank also promotes biological digestion of a portion of the solids and stores the remaining undigested portion. |
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How
do the systems work? |
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In
the first stage of the treatment process, the septic tank, removes sludge
by holding the raw sewage for a specific amount of time. Time is important
here because it allows the heavier sludge to settle to the bottom of the
tank. Raw sewage should be held in the tank for at least 24 hours in-order
for the separation to take place properly. As the system is used, sludge continues to accumulate in the bottom of the septic tank. Properly designed tanks have enough storage space to hold three years of sludge accumulation. When the space in the tank is filled beyond that point, sludge does not have enough time to completly separate from the raw sewage and begins to seep into the drain field area. As this occurs, the drain field will become clogged and eventually no longer be able to filter and distribute the wastewater produced by the home. Once this occurs, sewage will begin backing up into the home's drains, causing panic to the surprised homeowner. Continued neglect could result in a ruined drain field that will need replacement, a very expensive job. In some areas of the Outer Banks, site limitations such as beach front homes suffering from beach erosion could make replacement of the drain field impossible. To prevent this disaster from happening, the tank must be periodically pumped. |
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Since
I am unable to find any laws on the Outer Banks that regulate septic tank
cleaning, I will use the Pennsylvania law as a guide. A 900 gallon septic
tank is the minimum size that must be used for a typical home with three
bedrooms or less. If six people reside in a three-bedroom house, the tank
should be pumped every 1.3 years. If the same system serves a family of
two, the tank would be ready for pumping every 5.2 years. A Garbage disposal
in the home will increase the frequency of pumping. If you do not know the size of your tank you should have the tank pumped and inspected. The company cleaning the tank will then be able tell you its size and condition. |
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Toilet Out Of Order Buy this Tin Sign at AllPosters.com |
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Sources
For Septic System Information |
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More about septic systems in NC Dare County Septic Information Penn State Fact Sheet |
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