There are many different styles that septic systems can take on. This is because there are many different manufactures out there who make different styles of filtration systems for the leachfield. However, despite all this variance, all septic systems in Vermont have a few main things in common.
All Septic Systems Have These Things in Common
- SEPTIC TANK: All septic systems require a septic tank. This is the beginning of every septic system. All wastewater leaves the house and the first place it goes is into the septic tank. Septic tanks come in varying sizes, with the most common being 1000 or 1500 gallons. Here the wastewater sits, and separates into the solids, effluent, and scum. As the fluid fills the tank, it eventually gets high enough to pass through the effluent filter and exit the tank.
- PIPES: All septic systems must have some type of piping network to deliver the wastewater from the house to the tank, and then from the tank to the pump (if there is one), and then finally to the leachfield. Pipes leaving the house are always 4 inches in diameter, but after that they can be smaller if the system is pressurized. The pipes in the leachfield will have holes in them so the effluent can drain out into the surrounding soils.
- ELEVATION CHANGE: All septic systems must have some amount of elevation change. At the most basic level, there at least needs to be enough elevation change to allow gravity to do its work in getting the wastewater out of your house and into the septic tank. Then again, gravity will need to get the overflow wastewater out of the tank and into either the pump station or the leachfield. If your wastewater system is entirely gravity fed, it will skip the pumpstation all together and run downhill until it enters the leachfield. If there is not enough of an elevation change to accomplish this, the wastewater will need to be pumped into the leachfield.
- LEACHFIELD: The last thing all septic systems in Vermont will have in common is a leachfield. This is where the final stage of aerobic treatment occurs, and where the wastewater returns back to the earth. The cycle becomes complete as the water from your well enters your home, is used, treated, and cycled back into the soil.
Commonalties of All Vermont Septic Systems