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Water Quality Changes in a Septic Tank Effluent Discharged to the Chalk
Author(s) -
MONTGOMERY H. A. C.,
SHAW P. J.,
CHEESEMAN R. V.
Publication year - 1988
Publication title -
water and environment journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.437
H-Index - 37
eISSN - 1747-6593
pISSN - 1747-6585
DOI - 10.1111/j.1747-6593.1988.tb01307.x
Subject(s) - septic tank , effluent , nitrification , sewage , environmental science , water quality , environmental engineering , waste management , pulp and paper industry , chemistry , nitrogen , ecology , biology , engineering , organic chemistry
B ucket‐type samplers were installed in the unsaturated zone to intercept septic tank effluent descending through the Chalf at Snowdown, Kent. Better than 90 per cent removal of BOD and COD, and of the order of 99 per cent removal of coiform bacteria, were observed after downward percolation through 2.1 m of Chalk. Nitrification of ammonia had begun at that depth, but not at intermediate depth. The results, though limited, suggest that septic tank effluent is purified in the Chalk in a similar way to settled sewage.