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Sewage management for your home and for public buildings not on the County's sewer system.
Septic Systems and Aerobic Treatment Units (ATU) vs. the Cesspool.
Both Septic Systems and ATU's convert the effluent waters to a relatively safe level for introduction to the ground soils, ATU's typically cleaning the effluent water to a higher standard than the common septic system.
A cesspool is merely a solids holding hole that allows all the infectious bacteria laden water and solids to leach directly into the soils without any sort of treatment regime.
Cesspool contaminate the ground water supply which effects local well water and inevitably reaches the surrounding coral reefs of the Island.
What's your opinion regarding the States allowance of the cesspool?
E ho'a'o no i pau kuhihewa.
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Cesspools should have been banned many years ago.At some point the EPA is going to step in and ban them and require their removal.The EPA has already done this with large capacity and ganged cesspools.
My concern with ATU's in Hawaii is that people are not going to do the required yearly upkeep and maintenance.The people here can't even haul their trash to the transfer stations.Can we trust them do costly yearly inspection and maintenance ?
http://www.inspectapedia.com/septic/AerobicFailures.htm
A failed ATU is just about as bad as a cesspool.
Something new on the market is Enviro-septic leach field pipe.
http://www.presbyenvironmental.com/#1
I have a system that utilizes this pipe at my summer cabin in Ohio.It was approved for use on a lake.I have a 1500 gal solid tank that overflows the liquid into a second 1500 gal tank.This affluent is then pumped uphill to the leach field by a float activated lift pump.A second float switch is connected to an alarm in case the pump fails.
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quote:
Originally posted by Obie
Cesspools should have been banned many years ago.At some point the EPA is going to step in and ban them and require their removal.The EPA has already done this with large capacity and ganged cesspools....
I completely agree with Obie.
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Obie and Kapohocat,
We're all on the same page with this matter, although, I'm still concerned about sites that don't have dirt based soils such as a lava based soil only. Do we require dirt soil to be brought to the site which will be limited with regard to their abilities and or stipulate the use of the ATU and incorporate a maintenance requirement and inspection via an ATU permit renewal process on such homes?
E ho'a'o no i pau kuhihewa.
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They construct a large hole using a track hoe with a hydraulic hammer.One was just installed a few block from me.It took 3 days of hammering from 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM.They then filled the leach pit with crushed stone and after it is inspected they will cover it with red cinders.
I could send you a picture if you like.
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Cesspools should have been outlawed in non soil areas long ago.
On the other hand, while I doubt the hundreds of cattle in our neighborhood have cesspools, I seriously doubt they have sanitary permits either. I also suspect they produce a few more pounds daily than I.
David
Ninole Resident
Ninole Resident
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quote:
Originally posted by Wao nahele kane
Obie and Kapohocat,
We're all on the same page with this matter, although, I'm still concerned about sites that don't have dirt based soils such as a lava based soil only. Do we require dirt soil to be brought to the site which will be limited with regard to their abilities and or stipulate the use of the ATU and incorporate a maintenance requirement and inspection via an ATU permit renewal process on such homes?
E ho'a'o no i pau kuhihewa.
The septics and Aerobic systems already have maintenance requirements on them. Although who follows up on them I dont know.
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I don't think the problem is putting the waste on the ground. That is after all what happens when a bear goes in the woods. The problem is that the average cesspool has too much in common with an injection well. It speeds the effluent on its way past the critical aerobically active zone in the first couple of feet of soil. The leach field spreads the effluent out over a huge area compared to the cesspool and the septic tank among other things evens out the flow so there are no sudden flood events that rush the water through before treatment. The water leaving the leach field gets a leisurely tour of lots of aerobic real estate. The water leaving the cesspool gets kicked out the back door as soon as possible.
I don't think it matters exactly what the substrate is as long as it has lot of surface area. Sand should work as should cinders. The point is well made though that if you bury the leach field in dirt, dirt has a fine granular structure that provides the required surface area. The problem in most places besides Hawaii is that the soil is too fine and percolates too slowly. In puna you would usually have to bring some granular fill in because there is only a few inches of fine stuff, then rock.
I understand that in areas with a high water table the leach field is built into a mound above the normal grade. It is only a couple of feet high so that shows that given the right conditions of high surface area and low flow very little depth is required to get sufficient treatment.
I also understand that leach fields can be clogged by putting too much grease through them. Given that the solution to a clogged cesspool is to drop 1/2 a stick of dynamite in to re-fracture it, I can see there being some problems as people adapt to the demands of the new system.
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Septic tank system will have a septic tank with sufficient volume to accumulate solids for several years.Newer septic tank systems are required to have an effluent filter located on the outlet of the septic tank.
http://pumpcoseptic.com
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@Mark: using the bear in the woods example just doesn't cut it because, (1) there are very few bears and BILLIONS of people, (2) bears don't add toxic chemicals to their waste, such as Drano, etc., (3) bear populations are widely dispersed, while many human populations are crammed together in cities and so there is a lot of solid waste being generated in a relatively small area, and (4) bears do their thing in the woods, but not in streams or lakes, whereas many sewage systems outflow into fresh water systems or the ocean (like in Hilo).
