septic system

[tomh]

Your first stop needs to be with the county health department to determine the options they will approve. Being near a surface water body, and possibly having limitations in the soil such as high water table, permeability may limit your options. You county sanitarian or health department will tell you about permitting and types of systems that have been legally and successfully installed in your area.

Closed systems that use chemical treatment or incineration are not septic systems. They are fairly expensive as they require frequent maintenance to keep the vault or storage tank cleaned out. Septic systems by definition rely on gravity settling and anaerobic decomposition, and usually disperse treated effluent into the ground using a leach field. The final treatment occurs in the soil by filtration and biolgical decomposition. Variations of the septic system include aeration tanks, and mound systems.