ADVANTAGES

Risk of groundwater contamination is reduced Can be used in many types of terrain Low costs Can be used occasionally Aesthetically appealing Used to increase soil absorption No need to pump sludge out of system Produce grown on the system can be consumed or used as source of income

After extensive research, we reached the conclusion that the most suitable blackwater treatment system for the situation we were working with was the Evapotranspiration Basin.

Principles of the Evapotranspiration Basin

Blackwater flows in through an inlet into an impermeable tank containing a tunnel of tires and layers of rubble, gravel, sand and soil. On the last layer waterloving plants are present.
Water loving plants (Banana trees, taioba, etc)

Sewage stays in the system for 3 days during which it seeps from the tunnel of tires and flows up through the different layers. Eventually the effluent is absorbed by the plants and released into the atmosphere through transpiration. The different layers of materials act as filters and provide an environment for the development of anaerobic bacteria which help break down and decompose sewage.

Soil Sand Gravel Rubble Inlet Overflow pipe Tire tunnel

The separation of modules allowed us to design a self-sufficient system adapted to the geographical situation of the NGO

SPECIFIC PARAMETERS
Design a blackwater system for a daycare of 30 children and 5 adults Blackwater and Greywater are already separated Very high groundwater table: so system must be not be more than 50 cm below surface (Normal ET requires 1m depth) System should not require a secondary treatment for its blackwater: should be enclosed

usafi Modular Evapotranspiration Basin

STEPS FOR OUR DESIGN:
1. Calculate amount of blackwater that will need to be treated daily 2. Choose a septic tank that can hold one days worth of waste 3. Ensure that there is an adequate amount of land for the ET system 4. The piping should have at least a 2% decline to make sure solids do not clog the pipe 5. If horizontal ET, the two tanks should have the same volume, 40 cm deep 6. All the materials should be washed before insertion in the system so that dirt does not disrupt the filtration process

CONTINUITY
An easy to use construction manual was produced to be used in educational projects in partnershup with NGO and to aid in the implementation of Evapotranstpiration systems in the community

Water loving plants (Banana trees, taioba, etc)

Inlet Septic Tank Rubble Soil Sand Gravel Overflow Pipe

Groundwater