In essence, a septic tank as part of a septic
system, is a smaller version of a sewage treatment. It is specifically includes
a storage tank and this is the main holding area for the waste and the waste
water is then transferred to what is known as a soakaway. A soakaway is a
system underground that is installed to carry the waste away to a larger drain
field.
Septic tanks are very common in areas that have
no main sewage pipes in which to carry the waste water and small material away.
This usually affects rural properties or dwellings that are far away from any
local sewage plant. A drain field takes up a large slice of land, so this is
another reason why towns and cities often don’t have septic tank facilities. In
the countryside, there will be a greater likelihood of drain fields being
present, due to the lack of large scale sewage plants.
The septic tank works by allowing the effluent
(or waste water) to drain away through a large network of soakaway outlets and
leaves the solid material within the holding tank. The septic tank is usually
fine to leave and not worry about for a whole year and then this is the time to
think about getting the tank emptied by specialists. Once it has been emptied,
the tank can then be placed back and used for another year and so the process
is repeated.
The basic workings of the septic tank begin with
the sewage entering the inlet pipe. It is then taken to the lower part of the
tank. Solids then sink to the base of the tank and the effluent exits through a
separate outlet pipe. This waste water is then taken through to the drain field
by means of the soakaway.
A septic tank is designed to be suitable for the
property size and number of occupants. It also depends on the type of soil in
the ground as to which kind of soakaway is used. The soakaway is essentially a
kind of network of pipes laid in trenches that lead to a drainage field.
Septic tanks are a crucial part of sewage
disposal to many properties. There are still many homes which are not linked to
any major sewage plant and so these tanks become an absolutely must-have
element to the running of the household.
