Your Septic System
In a typical septic system, household wastes – including discarded food scraps, laundry water, cooking oils and grease – flow down the sewer line into a watertight septic tank, where they are decomposed by bacteria. In the tank, the complex food and waste particles are broken down by natural bacterial processes.
Inside the tank, the majority of the waste decomposes into sewage water, while heavier solids settle to the bottom and accumulate as sludge. Other lighter particles, including grease and oil - rise to the surface and form a scum.
The decomposed sewage water then flows from the tank, through a distribution box, and into a absorption field – a series of perforated pipes laid below ground in a bed of gravel.
The liquid leaches out through the gravel and is further purified as it is percolated through the soil. The more complete the decomposition of household waste, the more efficiently “trouble free” a septic system functions.
