What to do with an Aerobic septic system

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Shocker16

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Part of my property has an aerobic septic system. I was wondering if anyone here had any good ideas on how to utilize that part of the yard. Currently I just have it fenced off to keep the chickens out of it, but I hate having so much space with no other purpose but to watch the grass grow.

Would it be healthy if I planted pollinators for the bees? Or would that taint the honey/hive?
Any other ideas would be appreciated.
 
I assume you're not talking about the space above ATU tank, the tank shouldn't take up that much space. So, I assume you're asking about the area where the ATU effluent is discharged to. Where does the ATU effluent get discharged to? Is it a drainfield or an irrigation system?
 
In a previous life I used to manufacture and install septic systems. My system had an anaerobic chamber followed by an aerobic chamber followed by a settling chamber. I expect this to be similar to your system. The engineers that designed this system claims that you could drink the effluent. I never put that too the test.

The area above the tank should afford no problem as long as the tank is in good order. Likewise the area above the leach field should be fine, as long as your system is working.

Whatever you plant make sure it has a shallow root system, clover and dandelions for example. The bees love both. Shrubs and especially trees can cause damage to the drain field piping. I'd also avoid root vegetables or anything where you had to disturb the soil at depth to plant or to harvest.

I'd feel comfortable with raised beds in that area if you pumped your tank every 3 to 5 years or whatever your system required for proper maintenance.

Good luck with the bees and welcome to the forum.
 
My old field lines were 40+ years old... So, a couple of years ago I had to replace all of them. This area had previously been part of the garden by the house. When ever possible I use one of two tractors for cultivation.

My new lines would not support that kind of weight being driven over them repeatedly. It's been an annoyance as to what exactly to use the land for. I've been slowly planting medicinal plants over the area (I make most of the medicines I take).

My big problem is the tree line to the fight in the photo. In years past I'd hook up a bush hog and back it down into the brush keeping it away from my lines. I'm thinking this winter I'll have to cut out a little trail, just big enough for a tractor. Then I can keep the brush cut from the lower side. Even better, the next time I see my cousins dozer on a trailer I'll have him come over and clean/clear that area.

Good luck and welcome to the forum.

Septic 011.jpg
 
Some of the newer septic systems can be pretty complicated, the neighbor just west of us has a septic system that is pumped up hill 300 feet to a leach field where the pipes are all totally level, the house on the far west side of their property has a system that is pumped down to a leach field and they were told that couldn't have cattle in the leach field area, their pump system, I think, is connected to a phone line. I have seen a home that had a specialized leach field with evenly spaced vent pipes coming up out of a large sand filled area. All of these systems are rather expensive and are designed to be connected to phone lines, Big Brother Is watching you! And then there was news a few years ago that Oregon was considering installing nitrate sensors in peoples septic systems, sounds like a science fiction movie, checking out the byproducts of what you eat, I heard this would add at least $15,000 to the cost of peoples septic systems, seems to me that I heard it was turned down, far too intrusive and would cause undue expenses for lower income people. And then there is the question I asked my neighbor about the house just to or west, "What happens when there is a power outage and the sewage pump doesn't run and the septic tank is full?", his answer, "Well the septic installers couldn't legally do it but you can install a side leach field that the tank overflow can go into in case of a power outage". Which he did. I've heard that most of the septic tanks installed now days are supposed to be three chamber types and they are probably doing what has been mentioned here in this post. When people here in Oregon apply for septic systems, they have to have soil percolation tests done and depending on how well the soil drains, they may need to make a large sand pit area for their leach field, those systems get very expensive.
 
I use an outhouse myslef, but my parents have a drain field, they placed their raised bed garden over it. Free water and fertilizer.

After about ten years, the pipes in the drain field plugged up. What I did was dig up the ends, install risers with caps so the pipes could be purged.

I also installed a union inside the second chamber of the tank so that you can pressurize the drain field with an aircompressor and blow out the tiny little 1/8" diameter spray holes in it. We now do this twice a year.
 
I assume you're not talking about the space above ATU tank, the tank shouldn't take up that much space. So, I assume you're asking about the area where the ATU effluent is discharged to. Where does the ATU effluent get discharged to? Is it a drainfield or an irrigation system?
Its discharges through irrigation spouts that spray across the yard. It is the only system we are allowed to have in my county. I was told the discharged water is safe. But I was later told not to have a garden near it.
 
In a previous life I used to manufacture and install septic systems. My system had an anaerobic chamber followed by an aerobic chamber followed by a settling chamber. I expect this to be similar to your system. The engineers that designed this system claims that you could drink the effluent. I never put that too the test.

The area above the tank should afford no problem as long as the tank is in good order. Likewise the area above the leach field should be fine, as long as your system is working.

Whatever you plant make sure it has a shallow root system, clover and dandelions for example. The bees love both. Shrubs and especially trees can cause damage to the drain field piping. I'd also avoid root vegetables or anything where you had to disturb the soil at depth to plant or to harvest.

I'd feel comfortable with raised beds in that area if you pumped your tank every 3 to 5 years or whatever your system required for proper maintenance.

Good luck with the bees and welcome to the forum.
Mine sprays. I'm not sure a raised bed would help.
Here is a picture of how it sprays
 

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Its discharges through irrigation spouts that spray across the yard. It is the only system we are allowed to have in my county. I was told the discharged water is safe. But I was later told not to have a garden near it.
That is what I figured, your effluent is sprayed and not going to a drainfield.

My daughter and her husband, who are both physicians in Texas, have an ATU that sprays the treated effluent on to their lawn every night. They live in a suburban subdivision that have million dollar homes and all of the homes use ATUs and effluent spray areas. No one has fences around the spray field. In fact, the kids play on the sprayfield. Based on this, I would say that it is safe for you to allow chickens on to your spray area. I wouldn't pen them on the field, because they would get a chlorine water shower every night. I wouldn't think that would be good for them. But, allowing them to walk around the spray field shouldn't be a concern.
 
The manufacturer says it is child safe. But they also say it is unsafe to water your garden with it and do not get the water on your skin. So I dont let my kids near it.
This recommendation is due to the high chlorine concentration in the water being sprayed. Chlorine will kill many garden crops. I would not let kids come into contact with the water as it is being sprayed. Once the water and the chlorine have evaporated, there shouldn't be any issue with kids playing in the area.

Do you have a service contractor with an ATU maintanance company?
 
No, I put the chlorine tablets in myself. I heard it was cheaper to just call them and have them come check once a year then doing the actual contract. I had it checked a couple months ago and it was good.
 
No, I put the chlorine tablets in myself. I heard it was cheaper to just call them and have them come check once a year then doing the actual contract. I had it checked a couple months ago and it was good.
The reason I ask is that in many jurisdication where ATUs with yard spray fields are permitted the local permitting agency also requires the homeowner to have a service contract with a licensed maintenance company.
 
Mine sprays. I'm not sure a raised bed would help.
Here is a picture of how it sprays
I remember hot summer days as a kid and running through the lawn sprinkler. I hope it doesn't get hot where you are.
 
Please ignore my remarks about using the area for any food production. Might be fine if everything worked perfectly. Mechanical systems are not known for perfection.
 
Most, if not all, ATU effluent is sprayed at night well after most kids are in bed. :)
Down here you can't have field lines. If you dig down 3' you hit water.
They use evaporation ponds with sprayers in the middle of them that start up at 11 pm and turn off before daylight.
Only us insomniacs ever see them at work.
Why you can't use effluent to water gardens or your lawn:
It isn't bacteria, or toxic chemicals. All of them are taken care of in the septic system.
As California found out with their recycling sewer water back into drinking water...
It is the pharmaceuticals.
We excrete a majority of the medicines we take, unchanged.
They cannot be removed without distillation.
With thousands of women taking birth-control pills and peeing out estrogen, they figured out why they had an abundance of 'girly-men'.
It will take an entire generation to correct this.
Even using the effluent to water crops, you are still intaking the drugs that were pee'd out when you eat the crops.
Better to spray it in the air in a pond and let it evaporate.
 
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Down here you can't have field lines. If you dig down 3' you hit water.
They use evaporation ponds with sprayers in the middle of them that start up at 11 pm and turn off before daylight.
Only us insomniacs ever see them at work.
Why you can't use effluent to water gardens or your lawn:
It isn't bacteria, or toxic chemicals. All of them are taken care of in the septic system.
As California found out with their recycling sewer water back into drinking water...
It is the pharmaceuticals.
We excrete a majority of the medicines we take, unchanged.
They cannot be removed without distillation.
With thousands of women taking birth-control pills and peeing out estrogen, they figured out why they had an abundance of 'girly-men'.
It will take an entire generation to correct this.
Even using the effluent to water crops, you are still intaking the drugs that were pee'd out when you eat the crops.
Better to spray it in the air in a pond and let it evaporate.
You are making a couple of assumptions. First, you are assuming that the chemicals are volatile enough to evaporate into the air. Many are not. They just end up on the soil surface of your evaporation pond. If the chemical does evaporate, it will come down to the ground or surface water the next time it rains. The second assumption, regarding irrigation to gardens (which I believe no one has recommended) is that plants can absorb and translocate large organic molecules within the plant. That assumption is mostly untrue with a few exception. In my opinion, as a soil scientist, is that the best place for sewage effluent is in the soil where the vast diversity of decomposing bacteria, fungi, and other soil biota can degrade organic medications and pills.
 
. In my opinion, as a soil scientist, is that the best place for sewage effluent is in the soil where the vast diversity of decomposing bacteria, fungi, and other soil biota can degrade organic medications and pills.
That's a great idea!
Wish we had thought of that!
Now ask yourself how well that will work here:
03-shade-beneath-the-cypress-canopy.jpg

You gonna bury those field lines on the left side or right side?

Yes, their evaporation ponds are lined with plastic so no chemicals go into the water table.
 
That's a great idea!
Wish we had thought of that!
Now ask yourself how well that will work here:
03-shade-beneath-the-cypress-canopy.jpg

You gonna bury those field lines on the left side or right side?

Yes, their evaporation ponds are lined with plastic so no chemicals go into the water table.

Funny I read a book on wells and springs that made the same point. Rather than pull the water out of the ground and store it, where we have to deal with contamination, just pull it when we need it.

Ben
 
That's a great idea!
Wish we had thought of that!
Now ask yourself how well that will work here:
03-shade-beneath-the-cypress-canopy.jpg

You gonna bury those field lines on the left side or right side?

Yes, their evaporation ponds are lined with plastic so no chemicals go into the water table.

Compared to Minnesota lakes, your Louisanna swamp already looks contaminated.....
 
Compared to Minnesota lakes, your Louisanna swamp already looks contaminated.....
It's all-natural gator poop :p. No human poop with medicines.
 
Yeah butt, the medicines that evaporated out of all of the sewage evaporation ponds, came down into that swamp with the rain. :)
Butt you already said the medicines don't evaporate! (something I agree with)
First, you are assuming that the chemicals are volatile enough to evaporate into the air. Many are not. They just end up on the soil surface of your evaporation pond.
Yes, they fall back in the pond with the plastic liner.
Strike a good blow like: "so, what happens when y'all have a hurricane and everything floods?"
The SHTF.
 
Butt you already said the medicines don't evaporate! (something I agree with)

Yes, they fall back in the pond with the plastic liner.
Strike a good blow like: "so, what happens when y'all have a hurricane and everything floods?"
The SHTF.
Yeah, hurricanes! Good point! If it weren't for Crawfish Etouffee, Jambalaya, and Gumbo, why would anyone live in Louisanna? Come to Minnesota and try our Lutefisk!
 

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