Septic

[Lex]

I'm trying to find the exact wording in the law that supposedly requires people to put in a septic system. The section it is supposed to be in is CHAPTER 485-A: WATER POLLUTION AND WASTE DISPOSAL but that seems to only concern with regulating septic systems, there is nothing about having to have one. I also found a DES Environmental Fact Sheet: SSB-12 Approved Technologies for Septic Systems that states the following:

Composting toilets  -   Allowed, but no leach field reduction allowed for the remaining wastewater whenever the building has running water.
"Mini dry well" and privies  -   Only allowed for buildings with no running water.

Also, in the ENV WS-1000 document:

Env-Ws 1022.02 Mini-Dry Well.
(a) If there will be no running water to, or wastewater discharge from, the dwelling, a mini-dry
well shall be used for the disposal of grey water. This mini-dry well shall be 75 feet from wells
and surface waters.
(b) A mini dry well shall be a hole up to 18 inches in diameter and 12 inches deep, filled with
stone or gravel.

But there is nothing that explicitely states that if you have running water that you may not use a Mini-Dry Well or some other alternative to a full blown septic system.

[Barterer]

Lex,
I think the distinction there is grey water vs. black water.  If you have running water and regular non-composting toilets, some sort of waste separation and decomposition needs to occur before it passes to the leach field.  A well-designed septic tank will trap the oils and scum, etc. that float to the top, while most of the shit settles to the bottom where it cooks down anaerobically to a much smaller volume.  See http://www.apalacheeseptic.com/septic-info.htm for how they work.  Whatever the law says doesn't really matter.   Without a septic tank, your drain field will clog up and you'll have a stinking mess on your hands (if you are flushing blackwater into it).

In my case, I just had a sewer line collapse under the slab of my house.  There's no way in hell I can pay to have it replaced.  Luckily, the line only served a kitchen sink and washing machine.  I consider both to be grey water, especially since we don't grind and flush food waste down the sink.  So I plan to rent a DitchWitch and install two french drains in the back yard, using 1~1.5in diameter gravel for the drain media.  A perforated PVC pipe will trickle water evenly over the length of each drain.  The city bureaucrats would have a cow if they knew what I plan to do.. the hell with them.  The trees in my back yard will love the nutrients.

[Lex]

And, if you use products from a company called Oasis, you can run your system as grey water, no matter what the state says...because Oasis is the only retail company to be registered and approved in all 50 states.  Great products. for not alot of money.

Actually I have both Oasis books and would like to build something like this, I'm just trying to determine if this is a legal alternative to a septic tank. I do not want to build something and then have to scrap it later to put in a septic tank. I'm already pretty set on having a composting toilet so if I can use a grey water system to save money on a septic system that would be superb.

[Lex]

My suspicion is that there is no actual wording that states: if you have running water in your home you must have a septic system. I think that it's based on the rules that prohibit of dumping dirty water into the soil. So if you don't have a septic system DES may do an inspection of your grey water output and if it is clean they may leave you alone. Although no system is completely clean, septic tanks are in fact some of the dirtiest systems - it's just that tradition often trumps logic and hence everyone has a septic system instead of some better alternative.

[Lloyd Danforth]

Septic systems are better than the cess pools that they replaced. I would think that a combination of a composting toilet and a dry well for the Gray water would work.  I don't know what a mini drywell is, but, the one described sounds like it is for a gutter drain.  I have made drywells 6 feet square and several feet deep. An ideal combination is a septic system combined with a graywater drywell to take the load off the septic tank.
If you think you will ever sell, the absence of a septic system could be a problem.

[cyberdoo78]

Everyone's problem is someone else solution. If given the choice between two identical homes, I would chose the non-septic system home rather then one with a septic. The costs to repair the former, while the job itself would be discusting, is cheaper then the cost of fixing a septic system with all the government regulation that goes into it.

[jaqeboy]

Lex,
You may want to be consulting with the NHSEA, New Hampshire Sustainable Energy Association: http://nhsea.org. They're the New-Hampshire chapter of the Northeast SEA. They have a directory to various service providers at: http://nhsea.org/download/Consumer_Guide_for_Services.pdf.

They also have a Green Buildings Open House every year in the early fall. At last year's GBOH, I toured a home in Jaffrey that had a "mouldering toilet" system (he says it would be called "composting" if it's a faster process and "mouldering" if it's slower, like his toilet system in a 2-person home). He published a paper on it and I'll see if I can find his name - he lives in Jaffrey. He also uses a rainwater catch and cistern system for his fresh water and a grey-water system that flowed out to water his landscape. It was the most thoroughly integrated home water and waste system I've ever seen, and all done on a limited budget.

From a quick googling, I believe it is Doug Clayton, and I'm sure this is the publication:
http://voyager.uvm.edu/bibs/bid1577498.html

listed also here: http://www.infography.com/content/022977990574.html

I don't see the text or a scan of it online, but you could search further, or call him in Jaffrey - he can probably sell you a copy of the booklet or even give you a tour of his home to show you how he did it. He's a very friendly and accessible guy.

I see the concept listed at the Yestermorrow Design/Build School in Vermont: http://yestermorrowschool.blogspot.com/2006_06_01_archive.html


Jack

[penguins4me]

Everyone's problem is someone else solution. If given the choice between two identical homes, I would chose the non-septic system home rather then one with a septic. The costs to repair the former, while the job itself would be discusting, is cheaper then the cost of fixing a septic system with all the government regulation that goes into it.

What would be the alternative to a septic system? Cesspool? Municipal sewer? Though for the latter, it's hard to work one of those in just for your own house out in the sticks. ;)

[cyberdoo78]

Everyone's problem is someone else solution. If given the choice between two identical homes, I would chose the non-septic system home rather then one with a septic. The costs to repair the former, while the job itself would be disgusting, is cheaper then the cost of fixing a septic system with all the government regulation that goes into it.

What would be the alternative to a septic system? Cesspool? Municipal sewer? Though for the latter, it's hard to work one of those in just for your own house out in the sticks.

The areas of alternatives are many, you only have to free your mind and you feces will follow. Firstly, you have two types of sewage.

Grey sewage, also called grey water, is any and all water that does not contain any biological human output, such as urine and feces. This includes things like, waste water from sinks, washing machines, and tubs(unless you pee in your tub when you shower. Come on you know you want to, all that warm water?). This water is easiest to dispose of and as a percentage of total waste water output is the largest. So what do you do with grey water? I will take my grey water and pipe it into my indoor planters. Some believe that the soaps and such will have a negative impact on planet life, however a little soap in the roots brought to the rest of the plant has been shown to stop pests. Do you like to eat soap tainted food? Food brought in from these grey water planter sources has no difference in taste, as I have been told. Further, you could take your grey water and pipe it outside to a green house, garden, or lawn. Not, on top of, but rather under, much like a leech field.

After grey water sewage is the other low amount type of sewage, and that is black sewage, or black water. This contains your human urine and fecal matter. One way to get rid of it and to use it effectively is with a home made or store bought composting toilet. One toilet can support two people easily, and with some minor modifications support more.

Another is a Solar toilet, this design uses the sun to quickly break down the solid waste by accelerating the composting process and dehydrating it and it evaporate the liquids.

The final other type of black water are various types that take the septic tank idea and accelerate it using heat and then discharge the safer liquids to a leech field. This idea actually addresses all the needs of a house for both black and grey water.

I plan on building a Earthship(www.earthship.net) and codes be damned.

[jaqeboy]

Everyone's problem is someone else solution. If given the choice between two identical homes, I would chose the non-septic system home rather then one with a septic. The costs to repair the former, while the job itself would be discusting, is cheaper then the cost of fixing a septic system with all the government regulation that goes into it.

What would be the alternative to a septic system? Cesspool? Municipal sewer? Though for the latter, it's hard to work one of those in just for your own house out in the sticks.

Privies (outhouses) are allowed, with certain conditions (what I had seen on this in the past had to do with the distance to wells and ponds, etc.). It's at:

TITLE X PUBLIC HEALTH CHAPTER 147 NUISANCES; TOILETS; DRAINS; EXPECTORATION; RUBBISH AND WASTE, Section X: http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/rsa/html/x/147/147-mrg.htm.

Notes: never to be a public nuisance, not closer than 100ft of a public sewer, waste from privy may not be dumped in a highway drainage area, might have to be designed by someone licensed by DES

[Lex]

In terms of the alternative to septic I'm specifically concidering the Greywater Greenhouse concept:

http://www.epa.gov/region1/assistance/ceitts/wastewater/techs/washwater.html
http://www.distributedenergy.com/ow_0603_growing.html
http://www.ecological-engineering.com/DescrOfWastewaterGarden.pdf

[MaineShark]

Not an "alternative" to a septic system, but I'm going to put in an Enviro-Septic septic system, which treats waste with a smaller footprint and fewer restrictions due to its higher efficiency than traditional leachfields.

Joe

[Lex]

Not an "alternative" to a septic system, but I'm going to put in an Enviro-Septic septic system, which treats waste with a smaller footprint and fewer restrictions due to its higher efficiency than traditional leachfields.

Joe

I checked it out, sounds very interesting. Do you know how much it costs for the system alone? I will do the installation myself.

[cyberdoo78]

Not an "alternative" to a septic system, but I'm going to put in an Enviro-Septic septic system, which treats waste with a smaller footprint and fewer restrictions due to its higher efficiency than traditional leachfields.

Joe

I checked it out, sounds very interesting. Do you know how much it costs for the system alone? I will do the installation myself.

If you are going to do it yourself, why rely on these prefab systems when a wetlands style designed system works better and more effectively? Take a look at the Earthship design and use whatever you want.

[MaineShark]

I checked it out, sounds very interesting. Do you know how much it costs for the system alone? I will do the installation myself.

It depends on the size system you need.  I paid about $1000 to have the site surveyed and a test pit dug to make sure of what the soil conditions are, below-grade, and to have a professional design done.  Now I'm going to call suppliers and find out who has the material for the best price.  Like you, I intend to do the install myself (except for the excavation, since I don't have heavy equipment).

If you are going to do it yourself, why rely on these prefab systems when a wetlands style designed system works better and more effectively? Take a look at the Earthship design and use whatever you want.

Like it or not, the State frowns on using unapproved systems.  I think it's silly, but that's the way things are.  If you are occupying a property and there is no septic design and final inspection on file, they're going to come after you.  The biggest reason is for property taxes: if you have a "four-bedroom" septic, you will be taxed as a four-bedroom house, regardless of what you actually use the rooms for.

Greywater systems are also verboten, since NH doesn't have provisions for allowing greywater usage.  Again, silly but to the best of my knowledge, that's the case.

Joe