Wastewater renovation with soil depth as influenced by additional treatment of septic tank effluent

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dc.contributor.authorDuncan, Carla S.en
dc.contributor.committeechairKnocke, William R.en
dc.contributor.committeecochairReneau, Raymond B. Jr.en
dc.contributor.committeememberNovak, John T.en
dc.contributor.committeememberHagedorn, Charles IIIen
dc.contributor.departmentEnvironmental Engineeringen
dc.date.accessioned2014-03-14T21:48:34Zen
dc.date.adate2009-10-31en
dc.date.available2014-03-14T21:48:34Zen
dc.date.issued1994-07-15en
dc.date.rdate2009-10-31en
dc.date.sdate2009-10-31en
dc.description.abstractMany soils are marginally suited for installation of on-site wastewater disposal systems. With soil limitations, additional wastewater treatment prior to soil application may allow for a reduction in soil depth. Undisturbed 20-cm-diameter soil columns (fine loamy, mixed, mesic Typic Hapludult), in a factorial arrangement between depth of soil (15, 30, and 45 cm) and type of effluent (septic tank, constructed wetlands, and recirculating sand filter), were used in this study. Effluent (670 cm³/d) was applied 6 times daily. Additional treatment of septic tank effluent by a constructed wetland and a recirculating sand filter resulted in 30 and 70% higher average soil infiltration rates, 92 and 96% reduction in fecal coliforms, 34 and 44% reduction in total nitrogen, and a 60 and 94% reduction in BOD₅, respectively. Fecal coliforms were present only in soil leachate from the 15 and 30 cm soil depths receiving septic tank effluent and the 15 cm depth that received constructed wetland effluent. Average soil leachate NO₃⁻-N concentrations were 19, 10 and 14 mg/L from soil columns receiving septic tank, constructed wetland, and recirculating sand filter effluents, respectively. Soil leachate contained <5 mg/L TKN and 1.8 mg/L NH4⁺-N. Total nitrogen losses were 55, 73, and 66 for the septic tank, constructed wetland, and recirculating sand filter treatments, respectively. BOD₅ averaged less than 4 mg/L in the soil column leachate, despite a 10 fold difference among influent types. In comparing the 1993 and 1994 growing seasons, average plant tissue dry weight, percent nitrogen, and percent phosphorus were greater during the 1994 growing season. The results from this study indicate that additional treatment of septic tank effluent can be substituted for soil depth.en
dc.description.degreeMaster of Scienceen
dc.format.extentix, 108 leavesen
dc.format.mediumBTDen
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen
dc.identifier.otheretd-10312009-020406en
dc.identifier.sourceurlhttp://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-10312009-020406/en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10919/45377en
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherVirginia Techen
dc.relation.haspartLD5655.V855_1994.D863.pdfen
dc.relation.isformatofOCLC# 31235695en
dc.rightsIn Copyrighten
dc.rights.urihttp://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/en
dc.subject.lccLD5655.V855 1994.D863en
dc.subject.lcshConstructed wetlandsen
dc.subject.lcshLand treatment of wastewateren
dc.subject.lcshSewage -- Purification -- Filtrationen
dc.titleWastewater renovation with soil depth as influenced by additional treatment of septic tank effluenten
dc.typeThesisen
dc.type.dcmitypeTexten
thesis.degree.disciplineEnvironmental Planningen
thesis.degree.grantorVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State Universityen
thesis.degree.levelmastersen
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Scienceen

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