2019 Spring Home & Garden

2019 SPRING HOME & GARDEN LINCOLN DAILY NEWS MAY 2, 2019 PAGE 17 For many rural homeowners there is no access to a sewerage system. More than one in five households have a septic system to treat the wastewater. Simply designed, a septic tank is a type of onsite sewage facility for a single property. Your Septic System One end of the septic tank is connected to a wastewater pipe and the other to a septic drain field. Wastewater enters the first chamber of the tank where bacteria breaks down the sewage, allowing solids to settle and scum to float. A filter prevents the solids from entering the outlet pipe. The excess liquid drains into the septic drain field, which provides a large area for the bacteria to thrive and treated water to seep into the ground. Gravel around the pipes allow water to flow into the soil and oxygen to reach the bacteria. This helps complete the decomposition of the waste. Any excess water is eliminated through filtration into the soil, through evaporation, and by uptake through the roots of plants. What you don’t know about a septic system could cost you By Lisa Ramlow H ouseholds in the United States are expected to have a drainage system in place that takes liquid waste out of the home. Inside most city limits this waste called sewage is drained from the house through pipes into an underground structure called sewer, which is a system that pumps the waste to a sewage treatment plant. CONTINUED u