Andrea Sater

Thank you for your quick response!

Okay, so you can use it right away, but it's not advisable:-) Plant failure due to the anaerobic nature of the system and the fact that yes, the treatment effectiveness would be less was what I was getting after.

As for my situation, the dome system is failing due to the field being too saturated, which caused the domes to sink, reducing flow through the pipes. So yes, willows could work. But we don't want roots being a problem, and you do mention that in your book, but it almost sounded like you had to plan your drain-field for being planted like that. Any suggestions for how to plant on an existing field? Any other options besides willows for soaking up the water? (We're on pretty heavy clay, no open water around, and ground water is pretty deep.) There is currently sod on the drain-field, and I don't think the sprinkler system for that is helping any. There's a lot of conflicting opinions on what you should or shouldn't plant on a drain-field; do you have an opinion on that?

I'll definitely be looking forward to that magazine coming out! Thanks!

Just finished reading the book. It was very helpful, and I would definitely recommend it. I did have some question, for you though, Mr. Harty. You mentioned that it's best for the reeds to have a about a year to get established before using it for the effluent. How quickly could this process be sped up? Planting denser could help, but it sounded like the roots needed time to establish and at lower water levels. Can they still establish with low levels of effluent, or are they just not able to work their cleaning magic until they have a little time to grow?

The other questions I have are concerning the final disposal of effluent. Originally, I was hoping to clean up the effluent enough to use for irrigation, but that sounds like it might be a little intensive. Our drainfield is failing, right now (16 yr. old dome system, which apparently, all dome systems fail after about 15 yrs.......so they found out), and I was hoping for a permaculture alternative, and avoiding the 10k to put in a new drainfield. But, I'm a bit stuck as to what to do after a wetland, besides the willow option. Are there other ways to discharge into the ground?