Standardized Testing Methods for Aerated Wastewater Systems

Alternative wastewater systems were introduced into Riley County, Kansas in the early part of 1994. These systems were sold as the “save all” that would allow a home to be built in areas of the County where soil profile and percolation test results did not support a standard underground type of septic system. These remarkable systems produced a high quality effluent, carried the NFS seal and were approved by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment for installation. Unfortunately, the advanced treatment systems were installed with little or no training provided for the home owner, contractor, or regulator. It was not uncommon to receive maintenance reports in my office that had the address of the home owner and a couple of comments like “it smelled ok” or “it sounded great” followed by a call from an angry home owner that had just been charged $400 for five minutes work and saying that all they did was walk around sniffing the air. After checking the operation manuals for various systems, it was discovered that the contractors were only following what was recommended by the manufacturers which was a very limited approach. An activated system can smell very earthy and be a failed system full of filamentous growth. I attempted to resolve the problem in a threefold fashion. First, I developed a set of standards; secondly, I wrote a book to assist the contractors and home owners on how to evaluate alternative systems; and finally I presented these new techniques and reinforced them in the field.