What are septic tanks?
Septic tanks are an alternative to treatment of wastewater in a wastewater treatment plant. Septic tanks are often used in rural areas to deal with the small amount of sewage created by a single household. The advantages of septic tanks include minimum maintenance and minimum skills required for operation. A septic tank is part of a septic system, a diagram of which is shown above. In a septic system, wastes from the home flow down sewer lines into a tank or concrete box – the septic tank. In this tank, solids settle to the bottom and are treated by anaerobic action. The liquid drains off the top into another pipe which runs to a distribution box. From here, the liquid is distributed into fill lines in a septic field. The fill lines allow the water to leak out into the surrounding soil over a large area. As the water slowly percolates down into the groundwater, it is cleaned naturally. In the Tank Due to the low velocity of the wastewater flowing into a septic tank, the solids settle t
