TRANSPIRATION AND EVAPORATION OF SEWAGE EFFLUENT

Treatment of liquid wastes from roadside comfort stations with relatively small, transient effluent volumes often involves prohibitive operation and maintenance costs. Also, existing lagoons and septic tanks may be unable to meet new state and federal restrictions on waste discharges. Therefore, experiments were conducted to develop practical, zero-discharge procedures for utilizing the evapotranspiration phenomenon to dispose of sewage effluent. Two separate experiments were conducted. In the first experiment, impervious evapotranspiration units were constructed in rectangular excavations. Both raw domestic waste and settled domestic waste were pumped into or sprayed onto the units, and the evapotranspiration rate was determined through a water balance. In the second experiment, effluent from a two-stage lagoon was sprayed on an area vegetated with grass and shrubs. Results indicate that the operation of a well-designed, lagoon-fed spray irrigation system will be an economical, ecologically-sound method for disposing of liquid wastes from roadside rest areas.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Sponsored in part by Alabama State Highway Department.
• Corporate Authors:

  Auburn University

  Engineering Experiment Station
  Auburn, AL  United States  36849

  Federal Highway Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590

  Alabama State Highway Department

  11 South Union Street
  Montgomery, AL  United States  36130
• Authors:
  • Jenkins, S R
  • Molz, F J
• Publication Date: 1976-12

Media Info

• Pagination: 84 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Design; Effluents; Evapotranspiration; Feasibility analysis; Field tests; Filtration; Highways; Irrigation; Lagoons; Performance evaluations; Sewage treatment; Sewerage; Sprayers; Sprays (Materials); Toilet facilities
• Uncontrolled Terms: Design criteria; Spraying
• Geographic Terms: Alabama
• Old TRIS Terms: Lagoons ponds; Sewage effluents
• Subject Areas: Design; Environment; Highways;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00175500
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: National Technical Information Service
• Report/Paper Numbers: FHWA-AL-76-81
• Contract Numbers: 81
• Files: NTIS, TRIS, USDOT, STATEDOT
• Created Date: May 31 1978 12:00AM