ABSTRACT
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that there are approximately 18 million housing units in the United States that dispose of their wastewater using on-site wastewater treatment and disposal systems. Small communities in rural areas are generally faced with many situations that make the centralized sewage collection, treatment, and disposal systems very difficult and, in many cases, quite impractical. As a result, the planning, design, construction, and management of on-site systems for individual homes and small subdivisions and establishments are developed. The chapter presents the basic elements of planning, design, construction, and management of on-site wastewater treatment systems for individual homes, cluster housing and small communities, and commercial/institutional establishments. The wastewater treatment and disposal systems for individual homes, small establishments, and small communities in general fall into two broad categories: unsewered areas and sewered areas. Daily average wastewater flow rates and daily and long-term variations in flow are used to determine the size of various system components.
