Septic tank

{
  "id": "MLC-T-ENV-025253",
  "term": "Septic tank",
  "field": "Environment",
  "term_source": "Septic Tank",
  "definition": "1. An underground tank to collect wastes from homes that are not connected to a municipal sewer system. Waste goes from the home to the tank and is decomposed by bacteria. Solids and dead bacteria settle to the bottom as sludge while the liquid portion flows into the ground through drains. While properly placed and maintained septic systems can effectively treat domestic wastewater, others are a major source of ground water and surface water pollution.\n\n2. An underground storage tank for wastes from homes not connected to a sewer line. Waste goes directly from the home to the tank.\n\n3. A buried, watertight tank designed and constructed to receive and partially treat raw wastewater. The tank separates and retains settleable and floatable solids suspended in the wastewater and discharges the settled wastewater for further treatment and dispersal to the environment.\n\n4. Underground tank for treatment of wastewater from a home in rural and suburban areas. Bacteria in the tank decompose organic wastes and the sludge settles to the bottom of the tank. The effluent flows out of the tank into the ground through a field of drainpipes.\n\n5. Water-tight covered receptacle designed to receive or process, through liquid separation or biological digestion, the sewage discharged from a building sewer. The effluent from such receptacle is distributed for disposal through the soil and settled solids and scum from the tank are pumped out periodically and hauled to a treatment facility.\n\n6. Buried, watertight tank designed and constructed to receive and partially treat raw wastewater. The tank separates and retains settleable and floatable solids suspended in the wastewater and discharges the settled wastewater for further treatment and dispersal to the environment.",
  "subject": "Built environments",
  "references": [
    "Environmental Issues Terms & Acronyms",
    "Terms of Environment",
    "Septic Systems Glossary",
    "Greenhouse Gas Emissions",
    "40 CFR 280.12 (CFR 2018)"
  ],
  "url": "https://mlchart.com/terminology/environment/septic-tank/"
}