Sections
Guide sections
The material in this guide falls into four areas. The first explains what systems exist and how they work. The second covers how to approach the choice and what to discuss with a designer. The third is about everyday care and winter, and the fourth is about safety, which is easy to forget on your own property.
People often mix up the words "septic tank" and "treatment plant", yet they stand for different processes and different duties for the owner. Once you understand the difference, conversations with contractors become noticeably shorter and calmer.
The guide covers the questions an ordinary owner of a country home runs into: choosing a system, preparing for installation, maintenance, winter, odours and safety. We do not write about building a house in general, we do not make calculations for a particular plot and we do not compare products from different manufacturers.
Systems
How a holding tank differs from a septic tank and a biological treatment plant, and where a pumping station and post-treatment come in.
- Holding tanks
A tank that treats nothing and simply stores wastewater until the truck arrives, and the situations in which that is a sensible choice.
- Pumping stations
Why wastewater has to be pumped when gravity flow is impossible, what parts a station usually consists of and how to tell that something is wrong.
- Sorption post-treatment
A filter medium that holds back some of the remaining pollutants, and why it has to be replaced as it works.
Choice and design
What information you need before choosing a system and how not to get lost when talking to professionals.
- Reading path for house buyers
What to look at and what to ask the seller if the property already has a sewage system.
- Design glossary
Site surveys, groundwater, gravity flow, post-treatment and other words you will meet in the design and the contract.
- Questions about choosing
Short answers: how a septic tank differs from a treatment plant and why the decision cannot be made from a photo of the plot.
Day-to-day use
Everyday care, pump-outs, servicing and getting ready for the cold.
- Getting ready for winter
A practical article: what to do before the cold sets in, whether the house stands empty or is lived in all year.
- New material
A feed of publications showing which pages about servicing and care have appeared recently.
- Archive by topic
Every page of the guide with dates and tags, so you can quickly find what you need.
Safety
Gases in manholes, open hatches, electrical equipment and jobs you should never take on yourself.
- Smells and dangerous gases
Why you must never go down a manhole without protection and a safety line, and what to do if you notice a smell.
- Pumping equipment
Which signs of a fault an owner can notice and why repairing a station is a job for a service company.
- Home page
Five checks before choosing a system and answers to common questions about this guide.
Read next
- Guides
How to get your home sewage system ready for winter, plus the catalogue of practical articles.
- Questions
Short answers about choosing a system, odours, servicing and the winter months.
- Holding tanks
How a holding tank works, its strengths and limitations, and how to look after it.
What this text is based on
- SP 32.13330 "Sewerage. External networks and facilities" (Russian code of practice)
- Russian sanitary rules and standards (general provisions)
- Equipment manufacturers' instructions (general provisions)
Rules, requirements for treatment facilities and equipment manuals are updated from time to time, so the final word belongs to the design, the regulations in force and the documentation of your particular system. The texts here cite Russian standards; other countries have their own building and sanitary rules, so check local regulations and permits. This guide explains how systems work and why decisions are made, but it does not replace a designer, an installer or a service company.