Every time you flush a toilet, use your washing machine or garbage disposal, wastewater flows through your home’s plumbing into a septic tank. A septic tank is a buried, watertight container that holds the wastewater until solids settle down and liquid waste exits into a buried drain field. This Link: https://superioryardworks.ca/foundation-repair/

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Typically, all gray and black wastewater from the household enters the septic tank through one pipe. From there, the wastewater is separated. Heavy solids sink to the bottom and form a sludge; oils and grease float to the top, where they create a scum layer. A septic tank design generally allows for about half to two-thirds of the tank volume to be taken up by solids storage.

Liquid wastewater (known as effluent) exits the septic tank through a T-shaped outlet and into a drainfield or leach field. There it is naturally treated by bacteria as it filters down through soil layers and into groundwater. This process is called percolation.

Some alternative systems use pumps or gravity to help septic tank effluent trickle through sand, organic material such as peat and sawdust, constructed wetlands or other media before entering the soil. This process is designed to eliminate pollutants such as disease-causing pathogens, nitrogen and phosphorus before they reach groundwater.