In small towns there is no common sewage system. At the same time, the need for safe collection of sewage in a suburban area plays an important role. Do you agree? A well-equipped drainage pit in a private house will perfectly cope with the duties of receiving and partial disposal of effluents.
But is it able to provide comfort and epidemiological safety to households? How to make sure that the pit does not cause trouble? These issues should be carefully considered before deciding on the device of such a system.
We will also discuss solutions to the problem of wastewater in a suburban area and talk about how to independently build a cesspool and what is needed for this. The article contains expert advice, photo and video materials that help to better understand the arrangement of the sewer point on the site.
Features of local sewage
The operation of a suburban household is associated with the generation of wastewater. Each homeowner is faced with the task of not so much accumulating domestic wastewater as cleaning it. Moreover, a solution common in rural areas - digging an old barrel or tank under the sewer cesspool - is ineffective.
If the daily volume of effluents exceeds one cubic meter (1000 l), then the shortcomings of the “barrel” septic tanks will soon manifest themselves as unpleasant odors. Or worse, intestinal infections among households. Finally, a self-organized drain pit from a worn barrel is illegal in some situations.
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Drain pit in the countryside
Pit for the reception and partial processing of wastewater
Location of sewage collection points on the site
Single chamber sewer storage
Two-chamber monolithic design
Three-chamber treatment plant in the country
Chamber with filter for soil treatment
Bandwidth increase ring
Russian regulations require private homeowners to comply with measures to protect groundwater from pollution by domestic wastewater.
Law “On the Sanitary and Epidemiological Well-Being of the Population” (No. 52-FZ of March 30, 1999) and “Hygienic requirements for the protection of groundwater from pollution (SP 2.1.5.1059-01) charge homeowners with a solution to the sewage problem.
The location of the drain pit in relation to the house and the source of drinking water must be observed. Otherwise there will be infections
In turn, "Sanitary rules for the maintenance of the territory of populated areas" (SanPiN 42-128-4690-88), "Planning and development of horticultural (suburban) associations of citizens, structures and buildings" (SNiP 30-02-97), as well as Sewerage.
External networks and structures (SP 32.13330.2012) standardize the conditions for the organization and operation of the "pit" sewage system:
- distance from home to the drain pit - from 8 m;
- distance from the well (spring capture) - from 50 m;
- distance from neighboring households (fences) - from 2 m;
- deepening the capacity of the cesspool is carried out to the level of groundwater, but not more than 3 m;
- cleaning is done upon completion, but at least once a year.
Please note - the condition for the distance from the sources of drinking water is valid regardless of where these sources are.
Those. no matter who the closest well is - yours, neighborly or public - it is permissible to arrange a pit of a cesspool strictly 30 meters from it. Otherwise, there will be expenses for fines, reconstruction of a cesspool to a two-three-chamber septic tank and restoration of the ecological balance in the soil layers.
In a drainage pit from two chambers, sludge suspension and clarification of drains are much better than in a single-chamber bunker (+)
Cesspool capacity
Homeowners need to decide in advance (before choosing the type of cesspool) how to make a drain pit sufficient in volume. Its required capacity is calculated by the formula:
V = ndays• Xpeople• Vday / person
Wherein:
- V - estimated volume of the cesspool, m3;
- Ndays - the number of days the pit accumulated (before pumping out);
- Xpeople - the number of permanent household members;
- Vday / person - daily water consumption by one household, l.
For example, for a private household with a permanent residence of 5 people, cleaning the cesspool once a month and water consumption of 150 l / person, the volume of the cesspool is: V = 30 • 5 • 150 = 22.5 m3.
We increase the obtained volume by at least 10% (filling the pit to the top is prohibited by the norms) and we obtain the volume of the cesspool: V = 22.5 + 22.5 • 0.1 = 24.75 m3. Round the value to 25 m3 - better more than less.
The correct value of daily water consumption depends on the household's need for bathing and washing, i.e. from their daily habits. According to statistics, townspeople spend more water than villagers.
You can, of course, prepare a volumetric septic tank, having calculated its cleaning once every two months. But the cesspool does not accept more than 11 cubic meters
Digging deeper than 3 m is not worth it. Its bottom should not directly contact the groundwater horizon; according to the standards, it must be at least 1 m above their level. Let us assume that in the spring-autumn rainy season the overhead water is at a depth of 3.5 m. Therefore, the depth of the drain hole can be no more than 2.5 m.
Since it is easier to lay the walls of a rectangular cube than a round tank, a rectangular cesspool will be considered. But the septic tank round in terms of operation is more reliable, since the soil pressure on its walls is much lower.
Volume is calculated by multiplying the sides of the cube. We determine the long side (width) at the place of future placement of the cesspool, taking into account the convenient access of the cesspool machine. Let the width be 5 m. Then the length will be 25: 2: 5 = 2.5 m.
It is not necessary to get carried away with the capacity of the drain pit. The capacity of the sludge tank, as a rule, does not exceed 10 m3. This means that such a special transport vehicle is not capable of emptying a crowded sewer bunker of a larger volume (as in the example above) and taking out the waste at a time.
It is more rational to arrange a cesspool of up to 10 m3 and empty it every two weeks. After all, a large sewer bunker will take up usable area in a suburban area that can be used for something no less important.
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Concrete ring drain pit with waterproofing
Factory-made concrete truck
Brick Wall Drain Pit
Plastic containers for drain pits
Construction of an independent sewer system
If a factory-made septic tank is easier to install, then building a single-chamber brick cesspool is cheaper. Such a stockpile of wastewater is quite suitable if there is little space on the site and the daily discharge of sewage does not exceed one cubic meter. We will figure out how to dig and erect a drain hole with brick walls.
A drain pit with a filter bottom (Fig. On the left) can be used only for gray effluents or for the disposal of water coming out of a multi-chamber septic tank. To collect brown sewer masses, pressurized storage tanks are constructed (Fig. Right)
Porous or silicate brick is not suitable, you need a material made of fired clay. Only burnt brick walls are capable of holding mechanical loads from soil movements for years, not collapsing under the constant influence of moisture, and generally do not let it pass into its own thickness.
The best option for a brick single-chamber drive is a fully waterproofed structure, which is periodically emptied by sewers.
If a drain pit is arranged for the disposal of gray drains coming from a kitchen sink, bath, shower, etc., then a brick structure is arranged with a permeable bottom like a filter well.
The bottom of the filtering or otherwise absorbing well is filled with a soil filter composed of sand poured in layers, fine, then large gravel or crushed stone.
The power of the cleaning backfill should be at least 1 m, between its conditional base and the highest level of ground water noted in the rainy period, should be at least a meter.
In the case of installing a brick sewer on sandy soil, the filtration properties of which are not enough for the free passage of treated effluents, its throughput is increased. This is done by forming holes in the lower part of the walls made during the masonry.
We will analyze the construction of the simplest option - a storage pit for waste discharge that does not perform absorption functions. The bottom and its walls will not pass into the environment the waste mass, clarified and disinfected with a soil filter.
The optimum depth of the pit for the drain hole is 2-2.5 m. There is no need to dig deeper - the hose of the suction machine does not reach
Step 1. Digging a pit
Having chosen the optimal dimensions of the drain pit, we proceed to the preparation of the pit. It is necessary to increase the distance between its walls so that from the masonry to the slope of the pit a half-meter indent is preserved. Otherwise, applying external waterproofing to the walls of a brick septic tank will be an impossible task.
Step # 2. Preparing the base of the container
A sand and gravel cushion is poured onto the leveled bottom of the pit with a 200 mm layer, carefully rammed. A ruberoid overlaps on top, it blocks the leakage of cement milk into the ground during concreting.
Waterproofing the bottom of the pit before pouring concrete will reduce the loss of cement. Sewer bunker absolutely needs a waterproof bottom
A mesh reinforcement cage (8-10 mm reinforcement, mesh 100-150 mm) is exposed on the ruberoid flooring. The frame is strapped with steel flexible wire. Welding is not good, because worsen the strength of reinforced concrete.
Step # 3. Concrete bottom casting
To achieve better waterproofing, a solution of concrete grade M300 and higher should be used. The thickness of the concrete base of the cesspool is 150 mm. From the moment of pouring the bottom with concrete, you should wait 7-10 days, only after you start laying the walls.
Reinforcement of the bottom concrete of the drain pit is important. When the hopper is fully loaded, the load on its bottom and walls will increase many times
Step # 4. The construction of the walls of the drain pit
It is permissible to carry out the masonry “in half a brick” using an ordinary solution. However, in the final stage, filling the cavity between the brick walls and the slopes of the pit with a dry cement-sand mixture will be required.
Upon receipt of sedimentary moisture, the mixture hardens and becomes a protective cover for the waste hopper.
Step # 5. Waterproofing
As the brick walls rise, they need to be waterproofed externally with liquid bitumen materials. You can use roll, but their waterproofing efficiency is weaker. Waterproofing should not be postponed - the higher the walls, the more difficult it is to waterproof them.
Step # 6. Finishing the walls of the inside
It is enough to plaster them by introducing liquid glass (potassium, sodium) into the solution. A plaster layer containing liquid glass will significantly reduce the moisture absorption of the walls. Mandatory surface iron plastering with cement.
Concrete floor septic tank is reliable. However, it should not be brought to the ground level, as in the image - the sewage system will freeze
Step # 7 Overlap of a drain hole
The waste bunker must be blocked with a factory-made concrete slab. Mandatory hatch - through it will be pumped sewage.
Instead of reinforced concrete slabs, wooden boards can be used, tarred and laid on top of the roofing material on both sides. The overlap of the sewer structure must be insulated with expanded polystyrene plates, covered with 150-500 mm layer of soil.
A single-chamber cesspool, designed for periodic cleaning with sewage disposal equipment, is suitable for suburban households with temporary residence of people no more than 4. And to ensure the life of a large family, a drain pit with soil filtration of wastewater is needed. The following describes such a complex, designed for a family of 9 people.
The following photo gallery will familiarize you with the device of the drain pit by pouring concrete into the formwork:
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Stage 1: Development of a pit for a drain pit
Stage 2: Sanding the bottom for leveling
Stage 3: Construction of the formwork for filling the walls of the pit
Stage 4: Pouring mortar into the formwork
Stage 5: Dismantling the formwork after curing
Stage 6: Construction of the pit slab formwork
Stage 7: Laying rebar and pouring concrete
Stage 8: Arrangement of the site with hatches of the drain pit
Local sewage system with sewage treatment
A cottage equipped with modern sanitary equipment - a bathtub, a toilet bowl and a bidet - will not have enough bunker-type sewer storage.
The wastewater treatment complex will minimize the number of calls to specialists with treatment equipment, completely close the needs for sewage and avoid local problems with contamination of the soil with sewage.
The principle of clarification (treatment) of domestic wastewater through a system of drainage pipes is based on the natural order of filtration of fecal waste, "working" in nature. According to the riser in the house, sewage flows into the pipeline connecting the cottage and the septic tank. Sufficient sewage well - 2.5 m3.
When planning the landscape of a suburban area, one should not forget about the need to clean the septic tank. The machine may not drive, and its hoses are not long enough
In such a drive, domestic wastewater is clarified with the precipitation of suspended solids. You will need to hire a sludge pump with a crew to clean the sludge deposited in the septic tank twice a year.
Self-cleaning with decontamination of sediments in a specially designed compost bin is also acceptable (see below). The clarified sewage water is sent to the drainage network, from where it goes into the ground.
The well of the drain pit is carried out at 5-20 m distance from the house. The main requirement for the location and positioning of the drainage network is a sufficient distance from the building so that the waste water entering the ground does not wash the foundation, does not flood the cellar.
From the sewer-settling tank, the clarified waste stream is first transferred to a distribution well, then from it to a system of perforated drainage pipes made of polymer or asbestos cement.
Drainage pipes are laid at a depth of not less than half a meter, actually at the level of development of the soil and plant layer. If the soil developed on sandy soil, then the length of the drains is calculated taking into account 10 m per person.
In soil with a sandy loam base, the length of the perforated pipe should reach 14-17 m, with a loamy base of about 20 m.
For filtration in natural conditions, in soil, sewage, a two-chamber or three-chamber hopper is not necessary. A single-chamber drive will work if it is correctly built (+)
Sewage pipes from the well to the accumulation or discharge point should be placed with a slope of 0.02, i.e. per meter should have a 2 cm slope. It is desirable that the main part of the pipeline is laid below the freezing depth noted in the region.
Areas above this mark are thermally insulated with a detachable cylindrical insulation made of polystyrene foam, polyurethane foam, polyethylene or slag backfill.
Laying a channel of 100-150 mm of a pipe that drains sewage water into a storage pit is performed at least 50 mm above the distribution well with the piping, through which the clarified drains are directed to sealed drainage pipes.
The input and output of the pipeline into the pit is performed through tees of 100 mm diameter.Their upper ends should be left open, placing pipes for cleaning above them, having the same cross section with trays, inlet and outlet drains.
A gap of 50 mm is maintained between the open end of the tee and each cleaning pipe. Sewer pipes made of polyvinyl chloride or polyethylene are used, the diameter of which is 100-150 mm.
One distribution well in a complex of soil wastewater treatment can not do. It will take at least two of these
A pipe is attached to the lower end of each tee. It must be brought out 400 mm below the calculated water level in the discharge hopper.
All components of the drain pit, together with the point of the soil filtration system, need ventilation. This function is assigned to the sewer riser inside the house, the upper end of which is displayed above the roof level, the cesspool itself and each sewer pipe.
The pipeline from the distribution well to the drains laid in sandy soil is made with a slope of 3 mm, in sandy loam 2 mm, in loamy 1 mm
In the trenches dug under the filter system, pipes are laid with perforation down. Joints of drainage sewer pipes are insulated with roofing material, adhesive tape, simply polyethylene or similar material.
Drainage complex
The body of the wells, in which there are elements of the wiring of the drainage system, designed to collect and drain groundwater, is best done round. When making their walls of brick, 400 mm of the inner diameter of the circle is convenient, of concrete - 700 mm diameter.
The distribution well is not erected above 400 mm, otherwise it will be inconvenient to work with the wiring inside it. Brick walls from the inside must be plastered and iron. Outside, it is permissible to waterproof them with clay or bitumen coating.
The necks of all distribution wells must be closed with covers made of reinforced concrete, plastic or tarred boards. A heat insulator is placed on top - plate polystyrene foam with a surface filling of soil with a layer of 200-400 mm.
The section of the channel for laying drain cannot be chosen arbitrarily. The operation of the filtration system depends on this.
According to the direction of the drains, the wells are equipped with one-, two- and three-sided water inlets - open pipe outlets blocked by vertical gate valves. Wooden gates will be needed to adjust the water supply and during the repair of the well.
Open trays of concrete are formed at the bottom of the water distribution wells, leading from the supply pipe to the receiving drainage pipes. The height of the trays should be equal to the diameter of the largest pipe entering the well. Their bottom is brought to the level of the lower wall of the pipes.
In polymer drainage pipes (their lower part), slits of 15 mm width are cut, with a height of up to about half the diameter of the pipe. Saws with a pitch of 1000 mm will ensure a uniform flow of clarified drain water into the ground.
A trapezoidal shape is attached to the bottom of the drainage trenches. In them, a gravel or crushed stone pillow with a grain size of 15-25 mm is poured with a layer of 100-150 mm. In principle, the thicker the underlying layer of crushed stone (gravel) - the better will be the filtration of effluents.
After giving a given slope to the surface of the dump, drainage pipes are placed on it. On top of them, gravel or crushed stone is poured with a 50 mm layer, then the soil is flush with the soil level.
Drains should not be interconnected. The movement of drain water in them is carried out only through distribution wells
The distance between the septic tank and the distribution wells depends on the type of soil on the site. The required number of wells, from which parallel drains are stretched - two or more.
Characteristics of the sewage-filtration complex, depending on the type of soil:
- Sand. Two drains with a length of 18 m each, with 1.5 m intermediate distance between them. Filtration field area - 70 m2;
- Sandy loam. Five drains, each 19 m long, a step between them 2.5 m. The area of the filtration field is 231 m2;
- Light loam. Seven drains 18.5 m long, 3 m distance between them. Filtration field area - 495 m2.
In order to prevent air congestion from forming in the drainage pipes and to discharge methane, which is characteristic of the process of wastewater treatment, the drainage system will need an air flow. At the end of each drain, it is necessary to build a riser from a pipe of 100 mm diameter, lifting it 400-500 mm above the ground.
Septic tank decontamination
With independent cleaning of the drain hole and attempts to place sewage sludge on top of the ground, there is only one result - an abundance of flies and infections among households. Garbage can and must be converted to compost, completely disinfecting them from germs.
Choosing a place - from the house 15 m, from the well 25-30 m - you need to dig a hole half a meter deep and the required size. Its foundation pit is waterproofed with crumpled clay of a 200-300 mm layer, concreted or bricked with the output of the sides above the ground.
Sides are required - sewage collected in a compost pit must not penetrate the soil and infect it. To completely eliminate moisture exchange, a cement mortar is applied to the walls of the pit, followed by ironification. It is also useful to coat with bitumen on top.
The bottom of the compost pit is sprinkled with a 150 mm layer of peat or dry soil, garbage is placed on top. Having built up a layer of sewage sludge up to 250-300 mm, you need to fill it with 100-150 mm with a layer of peat or dry soil.
After laying out a compost heap 1000 mm high above the ground in layers, it is required to fill it completely with earth or peat 150-200 mm thick and leave it for 8 months to mature.
If in the process of laying the compost pit, pour the layers of garbage with a small amount of ash and pour a little water, then the compost will ripen faster and in better quality.
Video # 1. Self-creation of a brick drain pit in loamy soils:
Video # 2. Masonry drain pit of stone, with a headband of brick:
A drain pit in a suburban area is not only a need to provide for life, it is a responsibility. It is necessary to seriously assess the possibilities of arranging a local sewage system, choosing, albeit an expensive, but safe solution.
Please write comments in the block under the text of the article. We are interested in your stories about the hand-made device of a drain pit in a suburban area. Ask questions, share useful information and thematic photos.