Home Aeration Treatment
Commom questions
and topics:
Aeration system overview.
What kind of aeration system do I have?
How often should I pump out my system?
What can I do to make my system work better?
Septic system additives - Do they help?
Disinfection
Permits
Primary Treament
Aeration Treament
Final Treament
Overview
An aeration system, operating properly and well maintained will NOT smell
bad. The smell should be similar to what it smells like after a farmer plows
their field, a kind of musty-earthy smell. The color in the aeration chamber
should be chocolate brown. If a system smells bad, it is probably not operating
long enough (or not at all). See below for how long
it should run.
Laundry should not be done all in one day - never do more than 2-3 loads of laundry in one day. This will "flush" the system, resulting in the sewage not being treated. We recommend powdered laundry detergents. Laundry detergents and bleach should be biodegradable. Contact our office for details on which brands of detergents, bleaches and toilet paper are better than others.
If your system is not working properly or you want to have a service contract, contact one of the approved aeration service companies listed below.
Sewage is the wastewater released by residences, businesses and industries in a community. It is 99.94 percent water, with only 0.06 percent of the wastewater dissolved and suspended solid material. The cloudiness of sewage is caused by suspended particles. Pathogens or disease-causing organisms are present in sewage. Coliform bacteria are used as an indicator of disease-causing organisms. Sewage also contains nutrients (such as ammonia and phosphorus), minerals, and metals.
Sewage treatment is a multi-stage process to renovate wastewater before it reenters a body of water. The goal is to reduce or remove organic matter, solids, nutrients, disease-causing organisms and other pollutants from wastewater.
What
kind of aeration system do you have?
The pictures below are examples of aeration systems.
|
Jet
 (the motor is missing) |
Oldham |
Motor housing
|
The system |
|
Norweco
(picture not available - see website for details)
|
Primary
Treatment
Primary treatment occurs in the first chamber of the Jet and
Oldham aeration systems. This is where suspended solids and greases are separated
from wastewater. Wastewater is held in the first chamber for a few hours allowing
some particles to settle to the bottom and most grease to float to the top.
The clarified wastewater flows on to the next stage of treatment.
This first chamber should be pumped out according to the schedule below. If you have and use a garbage disposal, increase the frequency of pumping by the next size up. For example, if you have 3 people in your household the system should be pumped out every year and a half. If you have 3 people and a garbage disposal you use regularly, the system should be pumped out every year.
|
Estimated
Septic Tank Pumping Frequency in Years
(For Year-Round Residence) |
||||||||||
| Pretreatment Tank Size |
Household
Size (number of people)
|
|||||||||
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
6
|
7
|
8
|
9
|
10
|
|
|
500 gallons
(typical size of the aeration system pretreatment tank) |
5.8
|
2.6
|
1.5
|
1.0
|
0.7
|
0.4
|
0.3
|
0.2
|
0.1
|
---
|
| From:
Septic Tank Maintenance, AEX-740-98, by Karen M. Mancl Professor of Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering Extension Specialist, Water Quality |
||||||||||
For a list of Union County's approved septic tank pumpers click HERE.
Aeration
Treatment
Aeration treatment is a biological treatment process to remove
dissolved organic matter from wastewater. Sewage microorganisms or "bugs"
eat organic matter from sewage as their food supply. Aeration systems stir,
suspend, and provide air to the microorganisms in wastewater. Just like fish
in an aquarium need air, the "bugs" in an aeration system need air
also. As the bugs eat organic matter and nutrients from the wastewater they
grow in size and number. After the microorganisms have been suspended in the
wastewater for several hours, they are settled out in the third chamber as
a sludge, which is returned back into the aeration chamber.
There is a motor in this chamber. Depending on your system, the motor will
run for different lengths of time. Some systems, such as the Nyadic and Multi-flo,
are designed to run 24 hours a day. If your system uses a timer, check your
timer and be sure it is set to operate your system for the correct amount
of time. If you have any questions, please contact your installer, or the
Health Department.
|
Type
of system
|
Number
of people in the house
|
Length
of time the motor should run
|
|
Jet,Oldham
|
1-2
|
10-12
hours per day
|
|
Jet,Oldham
|
3-4
|
12-15
hours per day
|
|
Jet,Oldham
|
5-6
|
16-20
hours per day
|
|
Jet,Oldham
|
more
than 7
|
20-22
hours per day
|
|
Nyadic,
Multi-flo
|
does
not matter
|
24
hours a day
(this system should NOT be on a timer and is designed to run all the time) |
This is only a guide to how long the system should run, your family may need to run the system longer or shorter, depending on your water usage. If you have any questions regarding this, contact the Union County Health Department.
If you go on vacation, the system should be left running, you could set the timer back to 6-8 hours per day, but as soon as you return, reset it according the the schedule above. There is nothing wrong with leaving the system running when you are not home, it is just like leaving your refrigerator on when you leave home. You wouldn't turn that off would you?
Final
Treatment
There may be a filter following the aeration system. Many of
these filters can and should be backwashed every time the system is pumped
out. There are many types of filters, requiring different types of care. Contact
your Health Department if you have any questions.
Final treatment focuses on removal of disease-causing organisms from wastewater.
Disinfection
Treated wastewater can be disinfected by adding chlorine. If
you have a chlorinator on your system, keep the chlorine tube(s) filled with
chlorine tablets. Do NOT use swimming pool chlorine tablets, because they
dissolve too quickly and will clog the chlorinator. Use wastewater chlorine
tablets.
These can be obtained
from:
Bluffton Aeration Service 419-358-1936
Cast Stone Co. 614-444-2278
E.C. Babbert 614-837-8444
Everclean Aeration Service 614-877-9999
Lowe's
at Mill Run 614-529-5900 (Plumbing Dept.)
Stiger Precast, Inc. 740-482-2313
Permit
Everyone in Union County who has an aeration treatment system
is required by section 3701-29-08(E) of the Union County “Household Sewage
Rules”, to either have a service contract with one of the
approved aeration service companies listed below, or maintain
a basic system assessment permit from the Union County Board of Health.
If you choose to have a permit through the Health Department, our office will inspect your system once a year and let you know how the system is working. Our office does not perform repairs. If you need someone to work on your system, you will need to contact one of the approved aeration service companies listed below.
| Bluffton
Aeration Service Primarily services Jet & Oldham systems (Authorized Jet & Oldham service contractor) 800-589-3912 |
Buckeye
Aeration Service, Inc. 937-644-1625 |
| E.C.
Babbert Only services Jet systems (Authorized Jet service contractor) 614-837-8444 |
Everclean
Aeration Service Primarily services Multi-Flo and Nyadic systems (Authorized Multi-Flo and Nyadic service contractor) 614-877-9999 |
| Steven
Hayner 937-644-9775 |
Stiger
Precast, Inc. Primarily services Jet and Oldham systems (Authorized Jet and Oldham service contractor) 740-482-2313 |
| United
Precast, Inc. Only services Jet systems (Authorized Jet service contractor) 800-366-8740 |
|
Permits for all wastewater treatment systems serving more than 2 homes or buildings larger than a 3-family dwelling are issued by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency. For more information, contact the Division of Surface Water at 614-728-3778. The Union County Health Department contracts with the Ohio EPA to inspect all systems that process less than 25,000 gallons of wastewater per day.
Discharging raw sewage
from a dwelling is considered a public nuisance (Ohio Revised Code 3767.13).
The penalty for creating a public nuisance is a third degree misdemeanor which
is punishable by not more than 60 days in jail and/or a $500 fine. In addition,
the violator may be required to remove the sewage from public or private property
or the waters of the state.
