Visiting your sister was a tradition that you had imprinted in your life since she moved to another state after high school. She wanted to start a life of her own and she believed that doing it far from where she was born and raised was the best thing to do. She was younger than you but she had more courage in doing the things that she wanted. She had a very firm belief that if you wanted to make something out of your life, you just had to pick up your things and do it even if other people kept on telling you that it would be impossible for you to accomplish anything. Well, apparently in her case, it was true. In just two years, she was able to land a stable job in the magazine business and was already able to start payments on a house. When you visited her that day, she was in the process of having her septic tank lateral line aerated.
Your sister welcomed you with a huge hug and a peck on the cheek. She asked how things were back home and you told her that your parents were out of town on business and asked if you were available for a family vacation the coming month. She just smiled and told you that she had to check with her bosses. There were septic tank and drain field experts working on your sister’s leach field. You asked your sister about it and she said that she just wanted to make sure that her septic systems lateral lines won’t give her trouble in the future. There have been a number of horror stories in her work place that she really didn’t want to experience so it was her mission to make sure that she did everything to make the leach field efficient.
The leach field is the last phase of the wastewater treatment system. It is where the pre-treated effluent undergoes purification that rids it of contaminants and disease-causing microorganisms so that it would be safe to disperse into the surrounding environment. The septic expert suggested that aerating the leach field was needed to make sure that it wouldn’t have any clogs or blockages that could cause septic system failure. Your sister showed you a brochure of how the process went on:
How the Aeration Of A Leach Field Takes Place
1. The sludge in the septic tank is pumped out and subjected to treatment.
2. The ATU (aerobic treatment unit) is installed and then connected to an electrical source.
3. Wastewater from the household is passed into an aeration chamber where oxygen is pumped into it. This process is further enhanced by a rotor to efficiently incorporate oxygen into the wastewater.
4. The effluent is passed into the settling chamber where the undigested solidified materials settle. The solid particles separate from the effluent in this chamber.
5. The resulting clear effluent is returned to the aeration chamber to be purified more before it is returned to the surrounding environment.
Homeowners have always been asked to take care of their leach fields and aeration was definitely one of the most effective methods to do so. But after the ATU installation, your sister was aware of what she should do: maintain the flow of electricity into the ATU; lessen the water load that goes into the septic system; not dumping garbage, grease, and fats into the system; not using toxic or strong cleaning products because they kill off the decomposing bacteria in the system; and making sure that the septic system is frequently used to keep the bacteria digesting or breaking down their needed food.
Having an installed ATU can indeed help your lateral lines because it lengthens the life expectance of the leach field; it is a more efficient wastewater treatment than a conventional septic system; and it lessens the amount of ammonia that is dispersed into the surrounding waters table. But it is more expensive; has mechanical parts that can deteriorate; needs electricity; needs more maintenance; and could possibly discharge more nitrates into the groundwater. But it is a better way of ensuring that your leach field maintains its efficiency. Your sister has once again made a right move. Aerating a leach field can greatly extend the life of a septic system and the lateral lines.