[Greenbuilding] Septic for high water table area

Thu Jul 21 00:10:36 CDT 2016

Being in Ontario I would recommend a waterloo biofilter especially for what
sounds more like a house than a cabin - but there would be some minimal
energy involved. Probably a holding tank and solar pump would work in terms
of engineering if energy is a concern. I trust that product as I have worked
with it.

I've designed a few composting systems when forced to - and they are
essentially polluting unless its a closed system that can denitrify urine
and that gets complex. For a house system they literally stink unless
venting is really well developed and paid for and then even
then...essentially I don't like them as I don't trust homeowners to make
them work over time which is not a criticism - no one wants to deal with
shit which is why we have municipal authorities and pay them well.

Composting systems still have a somewhat reduced end product that still has
to find a resting place.  If you had a farm that you intended to farm for a
1000 years or so yes I could see wanting to maintain the nutrients in some
well considered system though you would need to indenture your progeny for
900 and something plus years. Other than that you need a simple plan that
can deal with the waste of 3 bedroom home for a generation or so.

Perhaps there is a local composting system you could tie into for a pump and
dump. 50's technology but ironically it puts the 'load' on municipal gov't
to protect environment and make the best use of the nutrients. Watersheds
are critical protection areas and a lot of thought has gone into that in
local gov't these days. Perhaps you could ask them as to what the best plan
might be for your area.

From: Greenbuilding [mailto:greenbuilding-bounces at lists.bioenergylists.org]
On Behalf Of Lynelle Hamilton
Sent: July-20-16 8:43 PM
To: Green Building
Subject: Re: [Greenbuilding] Septic for high water table area

Hi Sharon,

 Hydro went out and ditched the internet when I was sending a reply. I
apologise if this is a duplicate post.

Thanks for the post and link.

I had a peat pot system (an EcoFlo) some years ago, but the appear to have
disappeared from the scene here in central Ontario. 

I'm considering a composting system, but if I use one, want a whole house
system. This is a bit of a challenge in a home with insulated slab on grade
construction. I'm toying with the idea of a small crawl space area to hold
the composter unit, as well as some other utilities, though.

Lynelle

On 2016-07-20 11:13 PM, Sharon D. Moran wrote:

Hello Lynelle, 

I have heard about alternative onsite septic systems that use peat moss, 
and that approach may not always require a raised bed. 
Here in upstate NY, the company Bord Na Mona (see link below) has made some
installations on small-lot, lakeside cottages.

Since you mentioned wanting to be as low tech as possible, 
you might consider whether you would be comfortable with a dry toilet
approach in the cottage, and if so, 
then your wastewater focus would only need to be greywater, rather than
blackwater (thereby simplifying matters a bit).

While many local governments can be skeptical about alternative approaches,
making it harder for innovators, 
other local governments do tons of research and provide lots of information,
and this has to be one of the best out there - Massachusetts' Barnstable
County: 

http://www.barnstablecountyhealth.org/resources/publications/compendium-of-i
nformation-on-alternative-onsite-septic-system-technology/peat-filter-septic
-systems

-Sharon

________________________________________
From: Greenbuilding [greenbuilding-bounces at lists.bioenergylists.org] on
behalf of Lynelle Hamilton [lynelle at lahamilton.com]
Sent: Wednesday, July 20, 2016 10:37 PM
To: greenbuilding at lists.bioenergylists.org
Subject: [Greenbuilding] Septic for high water table area

Hello all,

I'm extensively renovating a 700 sq ft cottage and will add square footage
in the process. This will require replacing the septic bed as it: a) was
constructed during the Defenbaker years; b) is insufficient for what will be
a 3 bedroom 2.5 bath home; and c)is downright ugly and will render unusable
a large chunk of a small lot.

I'm on Lake Simcoe and the the water table is high.  I've been told that
"everyone" has to install a raised bed, but a number of the updated homes
(including those that have added square footage) don't have one.  Are there
alternatives to raised bed systems that will be as low tech as possible
(e.g. eliminating the need for a pump/processing system that requires
electricity and/or constatn monitoring.

I'd appreciate any thoughts folks have to offer!

Thanks,

Lynelle

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