Sediment that settles out of sewage, forming a semi-solid mass on the bottom of a septic tank

Liquid sewage that has been treated in a septic tank or a sewage treatment plant

To cause water or other liquid to percolate through something, so as to dissolve out soluble constituents

A covered pit for receiving the sewage from a house, having a perforated lining to allow the liquid portion of the sewage to leach into the ground while the sludge is retained in the pit to undergo decomposition

No longer acceptable as a means of sewage disposal

A pit that is lined with a perforated masonry or concrete wall to allow effluent collected from a septic tank to seep or leach into the surrounding soil, sometimes used as a substitute for a drainfield

A covered watertight tank for receiving the discharge from a building sewer, separating out the solid organic matter, which is decomposed and purified by anaerobic bacteria, and allowing the clarified liquid to discharge for final disposal

A chamber of a large septic tank employing siphonic action to automatically discharge a large volume of effluent when a predetermined quantity has accumulated

A filter for cleansing water or purifying effluent, consisting of layers of coarse stone, coarse gravel, and sand becoming finer toward the top

A sewage filtering system consisting of a number of distribution pipes surrounded by graded gravel, an intermediate layer of clean, coarse sand, and a system of under drains to carry off the filtered effluent

A sequence of absorption trenches, absorption beds, or seepage pits so arranged that the total effective absorption area of one is utilized before effluent flows into the next

A test for determining the rate at which a soil will absorb effluent, made by measuring the rate at which the water level drops after a hole is dug in the soil and filled with water

Structures and appurtenances for receiving the discharge of a sanitary drainage system and reducing the organic and bacterial content of the waste so as to render it less offensive or dangerous

A tank installed between a kitchen sink and a house sewer for retaining and removing grease from waster water

Also called grease interceptor

A box through which the flow of effluent from a septic tank is distributed to the drainage tiles of a drain field

An open area containing an arrangement of absorption trenches through which septic-tank effluent from a septic tank may seep or leach into the surrounding soil

A narrow trench 12 to 36 in. (305 to 914 mm) wide containing coarse aggregate and a distribution pipe through which the effluent from a septic tank is allowed to seep into the soil

Also called absorption field, disposal field

A trench wider than 36 in. (914 mm), containing coarse aggregate and two or more distribution pipes through which the effluent from a septic tank may seep into the surrounding soil

Also called seepage bed

Drain tiles laid with open joints or perforated pipe having sufficient openings for the distribution of the effluent from a septic tank

Also called distribution line

A hollow tile laid end to end with open joints to disperse effluent in a drain field, or to drain water-saturated soil