Sei sulla pagina 1di 5

Welcome/Home

WebsiteGeneralConstructionGuide
ChapterList
nextchapter

Chapter8:SepticTankDesignandConstruction

Thischapterisalsoincludedinthefieldmanual,FerrocementTankConstruction.

Thesedesigngraphicsillustrateaferrocementseptictankwhichwasbuiltin1975.Ithasbeenusedcontinuouslyandremainsinperfectcondition.Contraryto
theexperienceofmanywellrespectedsewageplantengineersandoperators,thecementhasnotdeteriorated.Perhapsthisisduetothehardnessofthemortar,
describedinchaptersoneandnine550to850kgf/cm2fortheferrocementplastermixversus175kgf/cm2forstandardconcretemix(8,000to12,000psivs.2,500
poundspersquareinch).Theoldestferrocementsepticsystemknownatferrocement.comwasbuiltin1968.

Wallthicknessvariesbetween3.8to7.5cm(11/2to3").Thelightgreyarearepresentsfloatingorganicmatter.Sludgeismostlycomposedofmicrobialremains
heavierthanwateritisadarkergreycoloratthebottom.Largearrowsindicatewaterflowdirection.Smallarrowsindicateflowdirectionforgassesof
decomposition.

Thisseptictankdidnotreceivegreywaterfromlaundry,sink,orbathdrains.Itwasemptiedintheyear2000estimatedremainingcapacitywasapproximately
fiftypercentafter25yearsofuse.Thebottomsludgewasusedforgardenfertilizerandthetopmatoforganicmatterwasleftinthetank.Biodegradabletoilet
tissuewasalwaysusedandnochemicalorbacterialproductswereintroduced.

Thefirstchamberis55percentoftheemptyvolume.Thesecondchamberis30%andthethirdis15%.Whenthefirstchamberishalffullofsludgeandfloating
organicmatter,therelativelyclearwaterinbetweenisapproximatelythesamevolumeastheclearwatervolumeinthesecondchamber.

Mostseptictankdesignsincludeonlytwochambers.Thethirdchamberaddstoprotectionofthedrainagearea,whichisanexpensiveanddifficultpartofseptic
systemconstruction.

Sewagewaterremainsinthistankforanaverageof45daysitisheldinthefirstchamberforanaverageoftwoweekswhenthechamberishalffull.Most
codesrequireonlyonedayretentiontimeofclearvolumeinthefirstchamber(at50%full).Thisinsufficienttimelimithascausedcontaminatedgroundwater
inmanyurbanareasoftheUnitedStates.Homeownersarerequiredtoinstallmunicipalsewersystemsafterthisoccurs.Anewsourceofdomesticwaterisalso
oftennecessary.

Septicsystemsarenotpracticalinareasofdensehumanhabitationunlessthedischargeisdirectedtocommunitytreatmentfacilitiesratherthanindividual
drainageareas.Thereisalmostalwaysenoughareatousegreywaterforgardenandlandscapeirrigationwheresepticsystemsaresuccessfullyutilized.

Localcodesdonotusuallyrequiremixingofgreywaterandsewagewaterwithintheplumbingsystembeforeitleavesthestructure.Plumbingsystemsthatdo
notpollutegreywaterwithsewageareenvironmentallywise.Greywaterisalargerquantitythanactualsewagewater.Theadditionalplumbingcosttokeep
themseparateisnotlarge.Checklocalbuildingcodesforgreywaterutilization.

Dischargefromindividualorcommunityseptictankscanbedirectedtoamunicipalsystematmuchlesscostthansewersystemswhichcarryallgreywaterand
organicmatter.Sewagecollectionaccountsfor70to90percentofmunicipalsewersysteminstallationwhenallwastewaterandraworganicsewageare
combinedandthensentdirectlytoacentrallocation.Toxicchemicaldumpingthroughthesewagesystemisalsoeasiertolocatewhensewagesludgeis
harvestedfromindividuals.

Individualseptictanksoverflowtoadrainfieldasillustratedbelow.Thewidth(X)timesthelength(Y)providesanareaofpercolation,whichisdeterminedby
soiltestsforabsorptionrate.Thedistance(Z)indicatesthegravelbedbeneaththedrainpipe,1015cmiscommon.Thetrenchisfilledwithgraveltoasimilar
distancefromthesurface.Connectedarchesareoftenusedtocreateacaveatthebottomofthetrench.Thistechniquereplacesbothpipeandgravel.Plasticarch
piecessufficientforaresidentialsepticsystemeasilyfitinthebackofasmalltruck.

Depthtothedrainpipe(P)mustbesufficienttopositionthedrainpipebelowrootswhichwillclogit.Theleachfieldcannotbeinanareaofdeeprootedtrees.
Thedepth(P)isalsorelatedtotheslopeoftheterrain,ahillsideleachfieldrequiresgreaterdepthsothatwaterdoesnotsurfaceonthedownhillside
(FerrocementHouseConstruction,p.2).

Percolationtestsforsoilabsorptionratesfollowprocedureswhichmayvaryindetailfromonelocaletothenext.Thebasicideaistodetermineanabsorption
areathatwillbesufficientfortheplannedusage.Thisisusuallyaccomplishedbydiggingapreliminaryholelargeenoughtoworkin.Thepreliminaryholeis
locatednearpoint(L)onthedrawing.Itisdugtofulldepthandislargeenoughtoworkin.Asmallertestholeisthenduginthebottomoftheworkarea.This
holeisfilledwithwaterandtheabsorptionrateismeasured.Ifthereisvariationofsoiltypeinthecomputedlength(Y),additionalabsorptiontestpitsaredugat
eitherend.

Theprimaryreasonforvaryingmethodsofcalculatingatotalabsorptionareaisthatanaerobicorganismsgrowonthebottomandwallsoftheleachareaasit
maturestoequilibriumwiththeareasoillife.Theseanaerobicorganismsdieandareconsumedbyaerobicorganismsinthesoil.Thegrowthofthislivinglayer
isonthetrenchbottomandwalls,wheregravelmeetssoil.Itslowswaterflowoutoftheleachfieldandalsoaccomplishesfinalpurificationofthewastewater.
Soiltemperatureandbiologyhavealargeeffectonthislayerandexplainmuchoftheregionaldifferencesinformulasemployedforcalculatingthetotal
requiredleacharea.

Ifleachareacalculationsarebasedonausagefactorwhichincludesallgreywaterandrawsewage,theleachareawillbelargerthannecessary(shouldgrey
waterbesubsequentlyutilizedforirrigation).Amethodofdividingthewaterflowsothathalftheleachareais"rested"whiletheotherhalfisusedcanbe
installedthenifdesired.Installanoutflowpipefromtheseptictanksothatwatercanbedirectedtodroppipesforeitherseparatedhalfattheleachfieldmid
point(Y).Aclaybarrierinthegravelbetweenthetwohalvesimprovesseparationefficiency.

Ferrocement.comadvisesusinggreywaterforirrigationinthesurfacesoilandinsunlightwheneverpossible.Surfacesoillifeandsunlightrapidlyconvertgrey
watertobiologicalusefulness.Aslongasthiswaterdoesnotpoolandbreedmosquitositisrelativelysafe.Localbuildingcodeswillprovidedetailed
informationforeachlocality.

Constructionofaseptictankinthegroundissimilartotheopentoptankexceptthereisnoneedforanouterlayeroffinewire.Cornerpiecesaremadeas
shownonpage28.Havingasupplyofthesereadywillgreatlyspeedupfabricationofthearmature.

Numberthreebarona3045cmgridbetweentwolayersof15by15cmsquareweldedwireisanadequatesteelschedule.Thereinforcingsteelbarsinthe
chamberseparationwallsneednotbebentsotheyoverlapintotheouterwalls,theweldedwirecornerpiecesareadequateattachmentforinnerchamberwalls.
Twocentimeterthicksupportblocks,withwiresinthemforattachingtothearmature,aresufficienttokeepthesteelfrombeingincontactwiththesoil.
Ferrocementobjectswithstraightwallsareeasiesttobuildusingweldedwiresoldinflatsectionsratherthanrollsthiseliminatestheneedtostraightenpieces
cutfromaroll.

Atwocoatcementisciouswatersealproductthatcuresinonedaywasusedinsidetheseptictankillustratedinthischapter.

Sanitaryteecanbeinspectedandcleanedthroughsmallhatchfromabove.

Thesmallledgedeflectsstrongcurrentssothebottomsludgeisnotdisturbed.

Lookingdownontheentranceplumbingandthedispersionledgebelowit.
Thesquareopeningatthetopisthehatch,itcanbewoodorferrocement.

Hatchcoversareverysimple,theyonlykeepdirtfromfallinginside.

Theupperwhitepipeisforreturnflowofgassestotheventingsystem.

Asecondarysmallhatchformanualcleanoutoftheentryfittingisrecommended.

Aturneddownellforwaterflowtothesecondchamberhelpskeepdownwarddriftingsolidsfrompassingthrough.

Steelisomittedonthenearsideforphotography.

Potrebbero piacerti anche