Types of On-Site Sewage Facility Systems
Below are some pictures and descriptions of the various types courtesy of the Texas Agrilife Extension Service. Click on the image to enlarge.
Conventional Septic Tank/Soil Absorption
Conventional septic systems have traditionally been the most commonly used technology for treating wastwater. These systems use gravity to treat and distribute wastewater in the soil.
Aerobic Treatment Unit
Aerobic units treat wastewater for homes and small buisinesses using the same process, only scaled down, as our municipal wastwater treatment systems use.
Septic Tank with Drip Irrigation
A drip system distributes water to the lawn though a system of tubing installed below the grouds surface.
Septic Tank with Leaching Chambers
Leaching chamber systems handle wastewater in a similar manner as conventional gravel-filled trench systems. The main difference is in how the trench is constructed.
Septic Tank with Gravel-less Pipe
Gravel-less pipe systems distribute treated wastewater into the soil. They are like gravel filled trench systems, except that gravel-less pipes are surrounded by geotextile fabric instead of gravel.
Septic Tank with Evapotranspiration Bed
An evapotransperation (ET) bed treats wastewater by using evapotransporation - the loss of water from the soil by evoporation and by transporation from plants growing there.
Septic Tank with Low-Pressure Dosing
An LPD system treates watewater and then pumps it into the soil several times daily. The system generally has 3 components: tanks, pump-tank for dosing, and a distribution system.