Home made Septic Tank

[Kays Supply]

Part of the point I was trying to make was that a " septic tank " the size of a barrel used twice a year isn't going to be much good as a septic tank. It needs to be used more often to keep it " alive ". It will be more of a distribution box than a septic tank. I was saying, that by code a little wrong is the same as all wrong.

 

[Gator6x4]

Something to consider in your risk analysis. Under the Clean Water Act, fecal coliform is a pollutant, and intentionally dumping it on the ground is a "release". Now, I don't know if dumping it on the ground is illegal in all circumstances, or only in certain circumstances. That determination may be fact specific. The state governments also have a hand in permitting septic tanks (i.e., fees).

The problem is, if your dumping is illegal and you get caught and the government requires remediation, the cost of a full blown aeration septic system might very will look cheep in hindsight.

Also if the owner wants to sell the property in the future and an environmental inspection is required, the inspectors will have a heyday with you and the owner if they detect illegal dumping.

Well said. My risk analysis if I was considering such would say no in very large letters. The papers are full of horror stories from people that have tried to circumvent local health and environmental laws/rules/regulations. I would hate to even think of the cost of the "Clean UP" of a fecal coliform discharge on the top of the ground and would have to do as other have done when confronted with a ground water contamination with fecal coliform clean up, file for bankruptcy.

 

[tungularafishcamp]

Local guy I have do backhoe work for me told me how he got a job to bury an old chevy up at some hillbillies place. He did it. They ran a sewer line right into a vent window. Instant septic tank.

:laughing:
Like to see the expression on some archeologist's face a few thousand years from now:laughing:

 

[greasemonkeyok]

The environmental laws are sticky and follow you through a bankruptcy in some instances. Cleanup costs are not like other debts that are discharged in bankruptcy.

 

[schmism]

for small volume black water tank and limited use why not just dig a hole.

whats the difference between an outhouse and that.

gray water tank could be emptied ontop of ground.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

Why not just swing by an RV dump station on the way home? Any place that you can get an RV to is no longer "remote property" in the USA.

 

[terry.dinerman]

At one particularly remote hunting lease, we used a sawdust toilet and disposed of the soiled shavings in a compost bin made out of 4 pallets....no smell beyond the aroma of pine shavings...no flies...no problems at all if you kept the poo well covered with shavings...

Used a 5 gal bucket under the open gray-water tank drain valve to catch the gray-water, and an automatic electric sump pump inside the bucket with a garden hose connected to a sprinkler to disperse it 100 feet or so away from the trailer.

Here is a link for an online free e-book....BE SAFE!

weblife.org/humanure/

 

[Loren49]

I'm not convinced that human waste knows the difference between a barrel and a "certified septic tank" - it will still decompose in the same way. In looking at tank design it appears the inlet should be a little higher in the tank(drum) than the outlet and a "T" on the pipes may be a good idea. (google "septic tank design") Only difference would be in capacity.

If the inspectors need something to do - check all the places that run lines into ditches and waterways.

Loren

 

[Skyco]

I'm kinda scratching my head on the "legalities" too...so if some people camp on some land and go pee and poop backpacker style, how is that any different than the same number of people dumping an RV tank with the exact same waste on the ground? Thats assuming none of the nasty RV tank chemicals have been used.....

 

[Skyco]

Why not just swing by an RV dump station on the way home? Any place that you can get an RV to is no longer "remote property" in the USA.

RV dumps have gotten a lot harder to find..besides what about extended "remote" camping where the tanks fill and people don't want to break camp and haul an RV 25 miles to dump?