Septage Receiving Best Practices

Wastewater treatment is a service that we all rely on.

Yet in Western Canada, where much of our population is located in rural communities, the direct connections to sewage lines so common in large cities are absent.

Septic tanks are a common solution to this challenge, yet they bear their unique considerations in the form of septage waste.

This concentrated remnant of septic processes is often difficult to process and requires specialized receiving techniques at treatment plants to ensure proper hauling, treatment, and disposal.

With the largely rural population of Western Canada, combined with the large volume and varying content of agricultural and industrial waste, it is little surprise that many treatment plants and municipalities are looking to upgrade or refine their current septage receiving capacities.

Fortunately, as the needs of communities grow, so does the sophistication of septage receiving practices and septage-receiving stations.

Emptying septic tanks and transporting the material to waste treatment sites is only the first stage of the septage receiving process.

Even septage of domestic origin present challenges in the form of dense composition, proper handling procedures, and ensuring the protection of nearby water sources.

Industrial septage, which may contain fats, oils, and grease (FOG), heavy metals or toxic compounds, requires even more stringent procedures to protect against environmental concerns and avoid disrupting or damaging treatment plant processes.

Screening procedures are in place to filter out and compact debris such as rocks, rags, and other solids. Grinders and rock traps remove larger objects that would otherwise block screens and filtering equipment downstream.

Augers can then remove solid material, allowing liquid waste to filter into the treatment facility properly.

The mechanics of septage receiving at the station itself, however, are only part of the overall process.

Even once potentially disruptive solids are removed, the chemical composition of liquid waste can still pose a hazard to treatment facilities, equipment, and processes.

Without appropriately securing access to the system, identification of the source of contamination is nearly impossible.

Septage content can vary greatly depending on its source, potentially carrying levels of chemicals dangerous or damaging to plant operations, so receiving stations' safety and security is a primary concern for many municipalities.

Excessively acidic waste or toxic content can result in increased maintenance costs or run the risk of breaking regulations for treatable waste.

Treatment plants may not be equipped for septage receiving or to handle particularly high concentrations of such chemicals and need to protect their systems against receiving such loads.

Access to the site can also be dangerous, and measures are often taken to restrict access to those without proper training and avoid illicit dumping.

These concerns can be addressed with the installation of a modern septage receiving station, which can improve security, provide accountability, reduce administratively

These concerns can be addressed with the installation of a modern septage receiving station, which can improve security, provide accountability, reduce administrative costs, and ensure disposal regulations are adhered to.

Perhaps the most traditional and effective method of ensuring the security of a septage receiving station is by regulating physical access to the system.

This is accomplished at many septage receiving stations through a card reader, which requires a hauler to swipe their access card to unlock the station or receiving panel.

Other forms of authentication include keypads which require a hauler to securely log in before transferring their load.

Depending on the supplier, this ensures unique identification of a given hauler, records of volume of septage being disposed of, identification of waste classes, and identification of waste generators, allowing a hauler’s access to be tracked individually and monitored over time.

While protecting against illicit transfers or unauthorized personnel certainly improves the security of the station and treatment facility, it is also imperative to ensure the safety of haulers using the system.

Quick-connect systems that securely lock septage hauler hoses to the system reduce the risk of hazardous spills and are a feature of almost every station.

Operating in Western Canada requires special consideration during the winter months to protect against freezing, and designated transfer areas can be designed to feature hard surface containment areas, hose reel wash-down systems, heated pads, lines, or enclosures to ensure safe operation throughout exposure to low temperatures.

While traditional septage receiving station design requires haulers to complete paper manifests for later submittal, there is a growing trend toward automated systems which allow greater accuracy and reduce administration costs.

As such, advanced secure access systems also allow the hauler to generate an automated manifest.

Not only do these systems allow more convenient operation of the system for the hauler, but they ensure that monitoring regulations are correctly adhered to.

The generation of manifests is often accomplished by having the hauler enter the source of their load and utilize flow measurement devices to record the precise volume received.

Automating this process frees up personnel that might otherwise be located at the septage receiving station and provides precise records that allow municipalities to increase revenue by utilizing this comprehensive data for billing purposes.

This information also allows them to bill accordingly based on whether the waste is of domestic or industrial origin.

Monitoring the source and volume of septage loads, while a necessary first step to ensuring equipment protection and operations, can only accomplish so much without verifying its accuracy.

Samplers may be included at septage receiving stations to allow a periodic analysis of a hauler’s transfers.

Should the hauler’s information on the content of their load not match that of the sample, their access can be discontinued until the discrepancy is investigated.

Automated samplers typically allow random sampling but, in some systems, can be configured to single out haulers that have had discrepancies in the past for more frequent sampling.

Installation of advanced equipment, such as pH monitoring equipment, can also allow for immediate analysis of septage characteristics, which can cause the station to refuse a transaction should a load exceed safe values.

These measures ensure the accuracy of the hauler's submitted manifests and provide detailed characteristic data for consideration by the treatment facility.

These sophisticated septage receiving practices not only work to ensure the safety of personnel and equipment but adherence to regulations in place to protect the treatment plants and haulers, as well as the communities in which they operate.

It has been Flowpoint Environmental Systems’ (formerly Municipal Solutions) pleasure to provide and develop installations to meet the needs of Western Canada’s communities for 15 years, and we look forward to continuing this tradition in years to come.

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