Development of Alternative On-site Treatment Systems for Wastewater Treatment: A Demonstration Project for Northern Minnesota

Abstract

The major objectives at the northern site were 1) to design, construct, monitor and compare the yearround performance of alternative treatment systems, with respect to a conventional trench system, for treatment of typical single family wastewater flows (based on the removal of fecal coliform bacteria, BOD5, TSS, phosphorus, and nitrogen); 2) to compare subsurface water quality at several depths below drainfield trenches receiving discharge water from a conventional (i.e., septic tank) and alternative systems; 3) to design, construct, and monitor the performance of a subsurface drip irrigation system at different depths in the s0il; 4) to design, construct, and monitor the performance of a pressurized sewage treatment system utilizing small diameter pipe and a subsurface flow, constructed wetland treatment system for a .cluster of lakeshore homes on Grand Lake in order to demonstrate that this alternative technology could correct a problem representative of numerous other situations in Minnesota; and 5) to develop a technology transfer plan for effectively communicating the results of this study to the private sector, the public (i.e., potential users), and the appropriate local and state agencies.