Sewage System for a Country House

Country cottages are rarely located near centralized wastewater disposal channels. Often, there's no way to connect to an existing pipe, leaving the homeowner with the challenge of setting up on-site wastewater management.

Extensive research and numerous books have been published on the step-by-step construction of septic tanks. The method of sewage disposal and its operational principle depend on multiple factors, including: distance from groundwater, water consumption levels, environmental regulations, and more.

Concrete Rings or an Expensive Septic System?

The simplest way to drain wastewater from a house is to install two or more concrete rings underground, 10–20 meters from the house. This method is relatively inexpensive and requires no special skills, except for ensuring a proper slope of the drainage pipe (1 cm per meter of pipe length).

What challenges might arise in such a setup? First, environmental concerns. Often, sanitary inspectors walk through dacha settlements with long poles, checking for a concrete base in septic pits.

Some may find this strange, but according to sanitary regulations, the pit’s base must be concrete, otherwise wastewater will leak into the environment. For example, wastewater from washing machines or dishwashers can severely harm the local ecosystem, especially if nearby wells supply drinking water.

On the other hand, concrete base reduces the pit’s efficiency—wastewater accumulates in the underground concrete chamber, requiring regular pumping. For example, two concrete rings, 1.5 m in diameter and 0.9 m in height, provide a usable volume of 2.5 m³. However, a family of four typically uses about 8 m³ of water per month. The conclusion is obvious.

An intermediate step toward automated wastewater filtration and purification is a flow-through septic tank. It consists of concrete rings placed sequentially with a slight slope. Water flows from one ring to the next, while heavy solids settle in earlier chambers. This reduces the need for frequent pumping and improves cost efficiency, despite higher initial installation costs compared to simple concrete ring systems.

Installing a Septic System

Installing a septic tank can be divided into several stages: excavating the pit, creating a filtration field, setting the pipe slope, and installing the tank. After digging the pit (its size depends not only on the tank’s dimensions but also on foundation thickness and soil cover height), a concrete base must be prepared under the tank. Septic tanks are heavy, so the ground is first compacted with a vibratory plate, then a base of sand and gravel is laid, followed by pouring the concrete pad.

When choosing the installation site, follow the manufacturer’s recommendations—typically, the tank should be placed more than 6 meters from the house. This helps prevent basement flooding and structural damage to the foundation.

During installation, the tank is filled to one-third with water to improve stability, leveled, and secured with special anchors to the concrete base. The water also prevents wall deflection during backfilling. Finally, the tank’s lid must be positioned above ground level to prevent rain and melted snow from entering.

The septic system works through multi-stage filtration and biological breakdown of solid waste, ensuring safe, clean water discharge into the environment.