ABSTRACT
Septic tank effluent discharged into soil carries various constituents which may reach and degrade groundwater. Some may be natural chemicals, such as chloride, nitrate, and phosphate salts. Some may be chemicals such as waste oil fractions, fuel oil, TCE and other chlorinated hydrocarbons, gasoline, turpentine, and almost anything that can be found in a house and flushed down the toilet. Other constituents are parasites and microbes of various kinds.
