Print this page Basic Subsurface Sewage Disposal Design
George E. Thomas, PE
Course Outline
This course is for engineers, code enforcement professionals and subsurface disposal system installers and provides established minimum design and installation requirements for household and small commercial subsurface sewage disposal systems with a capacity of 5,000 gallons per day or less.
This course includes
a multiple choice quiz at the end,
Learning Objective
At the conclusion of this course, the student will be able to identify and understand:
- Domestic sewage properties;
- Design sewage flow;
- Site investigation;
- Soil identification;
- Percolation testing;
- Maximum ground water levels;
- Ground water control techniques;
- House sewers;
- Septic tank construction and use;
- Leaching system dosing;
- How leaching systems function;
- Leaching systems in soils with slow seepage;
- Leaching systems in highly permeable soils;
- Leaching systems in areas of shallow rock;
- Leaching systems in hardpan soils;
- Leaching systems in select fill material;
- Hydraulic analysis;
- Methods of estimating soil permeability;
- Field examination of soils;
- Holding tanks;
- Distribution boxes;
- Siphons and dosing chambers;
- Subsurface sand filters; and
- Local and State Technical Standards.
Intended Audience
Engineers, Code enforcement professionals, and subsurface disposal system installers.
Benefit to Attendees
The information gained from this course will allow engineers and contactor to design and install basic household and small commercial subsurface sewage disposal systems with a capacity of 5,000 gallons per day or less.
Course Introduction
Subsurface sewage disposal systems designed using the basic requirements of this course, state and local Technical Standards and good engineering practices described will provide for a disposal system to treat and disposal of domestic sewage. Domestic sewage, as presented in this course, consists of wastes incidental to the occupancy of a residence or small commercial building. It contains toilet wastes, laundry wastes, wash water, kitchen wastes and possibly wastes from garbage grinders. It may also contain small amounts of potentially dangerous chemicals such as paints and solvents which may be used in the home and which cannot practically be excluded from the disposal system. Wastes from small restaurants and commercial laundries are also considered as domestic sewage, although the composition is not typical, and may require special design consideration for a subsurface sewage disposal system which receives them.
Course Content
In this lesson, you are required to download and study the following course content in PDF format:
Basic Subsurface Sewage Disposal Design
Please click on the above underlined hypertext to view, download or print the document for your study. Because of the large file size, we recommend that you first save the file to your computer by right clicking the mouse and choosing "Save Target As ...", and then open the file in Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you still experience any difficulty in downloading or opening this file, you may need to close some applications or reboot your computer to free up some memory.
Course Summary
The course provides basic requirements for the design and installation of subsurface sewage disposal systems, to include soil indemnification, percolation testing, and site investigation, provides a sample established technical standard, and provides good engineering practices for disposal systems with a flow that does not exceed 5,000 gallons per day. Sewage disposal systems conforming to the information in this course, local and state codes, established technical standards, and good engineering practices will provide for the preservation and improvement of public health.
Quiz
Once you finish studying the above course content, you need to take a quiz to obtain the PDH credits.
DISCLAIMER: The materials contained in the online course are not intended as a representation or warranty on the part of PDH Center or any other person/organization named herein. The materials are for general information only. They are not a substitute for competent professional advice. Application of this information to a specific project should be reviewed by a registered architect and/or professional engineer/surveyor. Anyone making use of the information set forth herein does so at their own risk and assumes any and all resulting liability arising therefrom.
