It's true... Our septic system is the first of its kind in all of British Columbia. Actually, no one knows of another system like it anywhere in the world! Pretty cool, eh?Today I took the day off of work to help Ed Hoeppner plumb our cool new septic disbursal field. The system, although it sounds a bit sketchy, is an engineered system that passes the BC health code.
Our problem is that our soil is so gravelly that it doesn't hold much water. As a result, any effluent that you put into it will probably run right through the gravel and into the groundwater where it could get into our neighboor's wells. We needed a secondary treatment system before the effluent got into the soil.
Pretty much all septic systems have a large tank which serves as the primary treatment. The inside is pretty grim place where solid waste gets converted to liquid by bacteria. Traditionally, this liquid is just pumped into a leech field where it is released into the soil. It is further broken down by the bacteria in the soil and becomes harmless.
Its when the liquid waste leaves OUR tank that the cool stuff happens. It gets pumped up to a series of 5 concrete rings that are filled with various layers of sand, mulch, peat, and soil. There'll be plants growing out of the top of the rings so they will look like actual planters. The effluent is sprayed up into the top of the soil and by the time it gets into the natural ground, it has been treated to a state where it's harmless.
OK, here are some pictures to explain further.
9 comments:
Wow, Wow!!! That's some system. Another step in the right direction. Will you have plants that will grow in the cold weather also? Thanks for the pictures and explanation. Sarge
Guess you always wanted to be Lord of the Rings, eh? Any new neighbours will be encouraged to just hook into your system, right? I suggest you look into finding out what cash crop thrives best on human waste, and plant it on top of those rings. Like ginseng,or maybe giant mushrooms. Better yet, find out how much heat the system gives off, and "sink" it into your heating system. Well, have some fun with it anyway. Unca Warren
Looks great guys!
Dan
All hail the rise of the biffy! Congratulations guys!
Doug, you have such a talent for explaining things! The pictures are great. Maybe you can get the septic engineers association (I am sure there is one!) to sponsor a research project to contribute to the tweaking over time (such as what kind of vegetation thrives best). I'm worried Unca Warrens "best" cash crop might not be legal!!ev.
Holy S#*t Batman. That set up is amazing. Looks to be the same general principle that the Body Shop's head office utilizes in T.O.
except yours is outside.
All you need is for Rachelle to create some statues to run the effluent through certain orifices
(orifici.. whatever)in the middle of the rings (along the lines of Mannequin Pis in Brussels)
Great Job
Scott
"Traditionally, this liquid is just pumped into a leech field where it is released into the soil. It is further broken down by the bacteria in the soil and becomes harmless."
Sure. Harmless. We're all living on a lake of poo, and it's just as weak as a baby fart.
I like Scott's idea, blending it with Rachelle's work. Some people will buy anything.
Honestly though, great system & congrats!
Great idea!
Take it one step further like we do at the landfill site: pipe the leachate into a gasification system turning it into energy and then put that energy back into the hydro grid! Good luck with that! lol
I like Scott's idea as well, much more creative:)
Thanks, everyone, for the great comments. As for getting any heat out of the system, most of the serious breakdown happens in the tank and there is so much water there, that it never really generates much heat.
Once it gets to the rings, it passes through the soil quickly enough that no real heat is generated there.
The cleansed liquid will make it's way into the ground, though and irrigate the soil all around, which is the real recycling of the leachate.
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