Dripline system solves discharge issues in Indiana community

Problem: With limited soils and small lot sizes, most of the septic systems in the community of Fulda, Ind., discharged to existing stormwater drains and a small creek. Exposed sewage and pungent odor during warm weather forced them to look for an alternative solution. Flows for the 64 total connections (59 residential, one church, one tavern, one gas station, one community center and one small industrial business) were estimated to average 8,750 gpd.

Solution: Bernardin, Lochmueller and Associates Inc. installed an Eco-Treatment System from Geoflow consisting of three primary components: a constructed wetland, a vegetated recirculating gravel filter and a 3.6-acre subsurface drip dispersal area with Wasteflow dripline. Permitted as a land application project, the dripline was buried belowground, where it effectively dispersed the effluent in green spaces in the community.

Result: Not only did the system and drip field overcome soil and site limitations, eliminate exposure and eliminate odors, it also met Indiana’s groundwater standard of 10 mg/L or less of total nitrogen on a year round basis. The system is proving to be cost-effective, particularly in operation and maintenance costs. 800/828-3388; www.geoflow.com.

Rockless system solves drainfield issues at central Florida convenience store

Problem: RaceTrac, a high-volume gas station/convenience chain with a store in Orange City, just north of Orlando in central Florida, was plagued with rising maintenance costs from a problematic aerobic system and a failed drainfield. Engineers decided to retrofit their existing tanks with pumps converting to a pressure-dosed system.

Solution: The store hired Acme Environmental Services of Mims, Fla., to install a low-profile multi-pipe “rockless” drainfield system from Plastic Tubing Industries. The 1,200-square-foot design involved eight separate 50-foot runs of the MPS-11 configuration. A 1-inch PVC pressure-dosed pipe was fed through end caps placed on the MPS-11 white lined two-hole distribution pipe. The distribution pipe was flanked by bundles of void pipe, eliminating the need for gravel. A PVC inspection port/riser was constructed at ground level within each distribution pipe.

Result: The riser provided the ability to monitor performance of each dosed pipe and check the drainfield level in each run. Since the dosing pipe rests unattached within the distribution pipe, it could be serviced without having to dig up the entire run by removing the end caps to retrieve a plugged line. The system has worked flawlessly since its completion in early June 2013. 800/780-5121; www.pti-pipe.com.