From home power
magazine one of my most valuable sources for practical information.
David Abazs family story is an inspiring heroic victory and, if i remember he may have access to materials that will help.
Here is an excerpt or two from a home power article.
Home Power #89 • June /July 2002
At the time we were making these decisions, my job as the county
water plan coordinator provided me with the opportunity to explore regional wastewater problems. During those years, I worked with an alternative wastewater technical committee, installing and evaluating alternative wastewater treatment systems throughout northern Minnesota. I couldn't have asked for a better chance to see the options available, and to help shape the trends in wastewater attitudes.
• 40 percent less water • 50-90 percent less nitrogen • 40-60 percent less phosphorus • less bacteria and fewer solids Greywater treatment seems to be even harder for regulatory agencies to accept than composting toilets, although I am not sure why. What comes out of a typical household as greywater actually contains fewer "problem" nutrients than the treated effluent that comes out of a typical mound septic system. A homeowner has little problem getting a mound system approved, while someone wanting to try a greywater system will probably be pushed into the "experimental" category with all its hoops to jump through. The biggest obstacle is that the regulatory community has figured out how to do a few systems (mounds and trenches, in our area), and does not want to spend the time and effort to investigate other options. They feel that their systems work, which in itself is arguable, considering the many studies revealing failing "approved" septic systems. Nonetheless, they have the tendency to reject any other suggestions. In Minnesota, there are septic regulations (Minnesota Individual Sewage Treatment Systems Standards Chapter 7080), and all systems have to fit within these specs. Each state has different regulations. Here are three recommended steps for successfully getting your greywater system approved. 1. Find out how an alternative system fits into the existing regulatory guidelines, and address these regulations in any design you propose. In our case, we knew that the wastewater had to remain subsurface, and a 500 gallon (1,900 I) septic tank was required, so we used these parameters in finalizing our design. 2. Show that your system will treat the waste as well or better than approved systems. Make sure you know more than the officials do about greywater. 3. Go to meetings, talk directly with all the individuals involved in granting your permit request, and find influential people, like county commissioners, to support your efforts. I followed all of these steps, plus I had the added advantage of having worked at the county level in the research of alternative waste water systems and was considered an expert in the field. For some time, we have been working on an ecological way to not only treat, but also use this nutrient-rich water source safely and efficiently. Through the evolution of our system, we've learned plenty about how to approach designing, permitting, building, and using a greywater system. Home Power #89 • June /July 2002
Access David Abazs, Round River Alternatives, 5879 Nikolai Rd., Finland, MN 55603 • 218-353-7736
abazs@lakenet.com • www.round-river.com Symbiosystem: Installation, Operation and Maintenance Manual, by David Abazs, 24 pgs., US$59.50 (includes shipping and one hour of consultation)
https://www.round-river.com/
https://wolf-ridge.org/meet-wolf-ridge-farmer-david-abazs/
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