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Evaluation of Innovative/Alternative Septic Systems for the Removal of Contaminants of Emerging Concern
Citation:
Glassmeyer, S., G. Heufelder, B. Baumgartel, P. Bradley, M. Donohue, L. Erban, E. Furlong, Tim Gleason, D. King, D. Kolpin, R. Lane, D. LeBlanc, E. MedlockKakaley, T. McCobb, M. Mills, M. Nadagouda, S. Pagsuyoin, J. SantoDomingo, K. Smalling, Dan Tettenhorst, AND D. Tush. Evaluation of Innovative/Alternative Septic Systems for the Removal of Contaminants of Emerging Concern . To be Presented at Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry North America Annual Meeting, Pittsburgh, PA, November 13 - 17, 2022.
Impact/Purpose:
This presentation describes sampling done at the Massachusetts Alternative Septic System Treatment Center to determine how traditional and innovative/ advanced septic systems remove contaminants of emerging concern. The work found, for many con the chemicals, two of the I/A septic systems performed slightly better than the traditional systems, but one I/A system did not perform as well. Additional work will determine if there is any seasonal/temperature dependance on the removal abilities of both traditional and I/A systems.
Description:
Groundwater is susceptible to elevated nitrogen concentration and co-pollutants from a variety of sources, including onsite wastewater treatment systems. For example, conventional onsite septic systems can release high levels of both nutrients (e.g., nitrogen and phosphorus) and contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) to groundwater and, in turn, into nearby receiving surface waters. In some areas, centralized wastewater treatment is not practically possible due to cost, lack of political will, or physical limitations; as such, septic systems should no longer be considered a temporary measure in advance of sewers but rather a permanent part of residential wastewater treatment infrastructure. Some coastal communities have been evaluating the removal of conventional septic systems and the installation of innovative/alternative (I/A) septic systems to reduce nutrient loads. Communities can select from various proprietary and non-proprietary I/A systems, each with its specific benefits and limitations. Enhanced I/A systems that include a lignocellulosic carbon source have been demonstrated to efficiently remove nitrogen from effluent along with some CECs. The removal of CECs during I/A treatment may be a co-benefit of installing these systems for residential wastewater treatment. Conversely, if some critical CECs are not removed (or only minimally removed) by the I/A treatment, communities may choose to opt for sewers instead of installing I/A septic systems. This project examines the removal from effluent of over 280 chemical and microbial CECs by conventional and I/A septic systems. Two conventional treatments were sampled: 1) a standard pipe-in-stone trench with 1.3 m of vadose zone and 2) a drip disposal system where the septic tank wastewater disposal is in the active bio-zone (root zone) underneath the turf with percolate collected at a 0.6 m depth. Effluent was collected from 4 points in 3 different I/A systems: 1) a saturated wood layer system; 2) a denitrifying system with an aeration chamber and denitrification chamber; and a second denitrifying system with collection points after both the 3) nitrifying bed and 4) wood chip bioreactor. This study will fill a critical information gap about the impact and/or mitigatory effect I/A systems have on ground and surface water quality as a diffuse source of CEC pollution. In addition, it will provide important contributions to the growing body of literature on the performance of I/A septic systems.