Bruce R Leech
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Registered: 9-20-2004
Location: Ensenada formerly Mulege
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Mood: A lot cooler than Mulege
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Bathing in sewerage
How many of you Baja Nomads Have seen some one using a barrel buried in the sand for a septic system?
How smart is this?
What should we do when we see some one doing this?
I love Baja California to much to put up with Ignorance.
Bruce R Leech
Ensenada
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yankeeirishman
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Location: Kalifornia
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well....
I agree...it's not the thing to do. Here in the Sacramento foothills, the public wells were recently tested for contamination. Found was human waste!
And this is not in the city! The hills. So.... I planned on a contained system (to be pumped out periodically) . Yeah?let?s keep the slush in control.
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PacO
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Those fooking Mexicans!
The audacity to use one barrel. The balls on those folks. God forbid the groundwater and soil composition situations might be different from area to
area.
As far as what should we do when we see this? I say shoot'em.
Is Leech an adverb or noun?
By the way, your website doesn't seem to be coming up at this time.
[Edited on 1-26-2005 by PacO]
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Anonymous
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we don't need no stinking Leech field
Have any of you guys ever heard of solar or composting toilets? I know they cost more than a 55 gal. drum but sometimes you just have to do the right
thing...and the right thing for Baja is to keep human waste from entering the water table and the Sea of Cortez...If you were to Google "solar
toilets" you would find many alternitives to sh-ting in your backyard...Bajagrouper
[Edited on 1-26-2005 by BajaNomad]
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PacO
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When I get to the point that we are spending more time south we'll increase our capacity. In what form remains to be seen. And not seen.
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Bruce R Leech
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6796
Registered: 9-20-2004
Location: Ensenada formerly Mulege
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Mood: A lot cooler than Mulege
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this refers to a single compartment system. the current requirement is three compartments.
Private Treatment: The Septic Tank Urban Wastewater Systems Measuring the Effectiveness of a Treatment ... Lots More Information Shop or Compare
Prices
Private Treatment: The Septic Tank
In rural areas where houses are spaced so far apart that a sewer system would be too expensive to install, people install their own, private sewage
treatment plants. These are called septic tanks.
A septic tank is simply a big concrete or steel tank that is buried in the yard. The tank might hold 1,000 gallons (4,000 liters) of water. Wastewater
flows into the tank at one end and leaves the tank at the other. The tank looks something like this in cross-section:
In this picture, you can see three layers. Anything that floats rises to the top and forms a layer known as the scum layer. Anything heavier than
water sinks to form the sludge layer. In the middle is a fairly clear water layer. This body of water contains bacteria and chemicals like nitrogen
and phosphorous that act as fertilizers, but it is largely free of solids.
Wastewater comes into the septic tank from the sewer pipes in the house, as shown here:
A septic tank naturally produces gases (caused by bacteria breaking down the organic material in the wastewater), and these gases don't smell good.
Sinks therefore have loops of pipe called P-traps that hold water in the lower loop and block the gases from flowing back into the house. The gases
flow up a vent pipe instead -- if you look at the roof of any house, you will see one or more vent pipes poking through.
As new water enters the tank, it displaces the water that's already there. This water flows out of the septic tank and into a drain field. A drain
field is made of perforated pipes buried in trenches filled with gravel. The following diagram shows an overhead view of a house, septic tank,
distribution box and drain field:
A typical drain field pipe is 4 inches (10 centimeters) in diameter and is buried in a trench that is 4 to 6 feet (about 1.5 m) deep and 2 feet (0.6
m) wide. The gravel fills the bottom 2 to 3 feet of the trench and dirt covers the gravel, like this:
The water is slowly absorbed and filtered by the ground in the drain field. The size of the drain field is determined by how well the ground absorbs
water. In places where the ground is hard clay that absorbs water very slowly, the drain field has to be much bigger.
A septic system is normally powered by nothing but gravity. Water flows down from the house to the tank, and down from the tank to the drain field. It
is a completely passive system.
You may have heard the expression, "The grass is always greener over the septic tank." Actually, it's the drain field, and the grass really is greener
-- it takes advantage of the moisture and nutrients in the drain field.
[Edited on 1-26-2005 by Bruce R Leech]
Bruce R Leech
Ensenada
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Tio Rocky
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Registered: 6-30-2004
Location: La Paz
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First
First?. I am not defending this use of barrels and wish they were not in use?. With that said it is not that uncommon nor is it original to Baja.
This type of system is called a French Tank and is in use in rural Europe, as I have been told. I was told this by a French fellow here in Ensenada at
his house where I saw one being placed in the ground?. And he was proud of the idea??? what they do is drill / make holes in the bottom and then line
the bottom with a few inches of rocks?. Once the barrel is full of solids it is covered with rocks and dirt and is replaced by another? That is all I
know so take it from there?
A question, how does this differ from a septic tank? Sounds like a crude method of the same idea.
Second?. When you see folks doing this please remember, most of these people don?t have two pesos to rub together and are doing the best with what
they have?? half of Los Angeles is still on Septic tanks?.. think about that? don?t care for it but it?s a huge step up from an outhouse??.
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jrbaja
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If I were you,
I would be more concerned with the chemical fertilizers and crap you put in the water in your own country.
Ever snorkel off the coast of california? Not really much reason to considering most
everything is dead anyways.
And I aint chitten ya!
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yankeeirishman
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Location: Kalifornia
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no fooling!
jrbaja said: "Ever snorkel off the coast of california? Not really
much reason to considering most everything is dead anyways"
Let me tell you something, you're right! Anyone wanting to see a dead coast, go to the Fort Bragg area. Up or down 100 miles. You be lucky to find a
Starfish, Blue Crabs, whatever. The famous tidepools of Fort Bragg are dead.
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FrankO
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Registered: 11-10-2002
Location: Ocean Beach
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Wow, the snorkeling's awesome where I live. Plenty of wildlife. Sometimes when I'm out surfing and the bait's running all around me it just makes me
grateful to live where I do.
[Edited on 1-26-2005 by FrankO]
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Bajaddict
Junior Nomad
Posts: 50
Registered: 12-6-2002
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If I may add a few points to Bruce's septic system description......
Bruce has posted a very good description of a typical private sewage disposal system. If I may add a few points of my own.....
The UPC (Uniform Plumbing Code) requires that a septic tank be two compartments minimum, not three. Some of the larger commercial systems that I have
designed have many chambers in order to provide the capacity needed for retention time. Poop and what-not needs to spend time in the tank in order to
breakdown and avoid being washed intact into the leach field. jensenprecast.com has a good example of a two compartment residential tank on their
site.
I'm not aware of the minimum size or number of compartments required by Mexican Building Officials (if present).
When designing a leach field, many factors need to be addressed. The most critical factor is the soil type. Proximity to dwellings, water sources,
and lot lines are also major factors. It is advisable to wrap the perforated leach pipe and gravel in a filter fabric "burrito", as this will extend
the life of the leach field considerable. Also, space permitting, the leach field can be divided into two equal portions with a distribution box and
valve at the tank discharge. This gives the homeowner the option of alternating (every six months or so) the effluent flow into one field or the
other, allowing each sub-field a chance to dry out and any solids inadvertantly passed to breakdown.... extending the life of both fields.
If space is limited, a vertically designed leach field can also be used. However, if a high ground water is present (as in most places that these
tanks would be installed) this option is not availible.
A sludge will always build up in the tank, and must be pumped when the level becomes too high. If neglected, this sludge will make it's way into the
leach field, fouling it and rendering it's percolating properties useless.... then it's out with the backhoe to replace the perforated pipe and
gravel! Adding yeast to the tank helps to break down the solids. I always figured that draining a yeasty brew, via the kidneys, into the tank can't
hurt  ! You should also avoid putting anything into the tank (paper, garbage
disposer discharge, etc...) unless you have eaten it first.
Please remember that a septic system IS NOT a sewage treatment plant. The effluent discharged is a bacteria laden turd-juice broth. This liquid WILL
enter the ground water, wells, and/or any other body of water nearby, just as it would from the 60 gallon drum that most folks use. All that it does
is break down the majority of the turds for you.... if it has been pumped regulary. Has anyone seen a septic pumping truck in Baja? I haven't.....
Personaly, I would use the drum.... there is no difference in the end result.
[Edited on 1-27-2005 by Bajaddict]
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PacO
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Well, thank you bajaddict
I don't feel quite as retarded now. When I am at the point in my life where I am
spending significant time down south I am going to install a bigger system and leach it all to shade trees. My grey water is headed that route within
the next month or two.
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