Building a reliable automated septic receiving program involves more than installing equipment and meeting basic regulatory requirements. While compliance is essential, long-term success also depends on how efficiently the program operates, how accurately data is captured, and how consistently procedures are followed day to day. Implementing an automated sewage receiving system can significantly enhance both efficiency and accuracy.
Sometimes these systems are also known as:
- Automated Septage Receiving
- Automated Sewage Receiving
- Automated Wastewater Receiving
- Automated Liquid Waste Receiving
Automation reduces manual intervention, improves accountability, and provides better visibility into hauler activity, volumes, and system performance. These benefits help facilities lower administrative overhead, minimize errors, and maintain tighter control over operations.
As you plan for an automated liquid waste receiving system, there are several additional factors to consider. Including access control, data collection, equipment protection, and integration with existing processes. Learn how automated wastewater receiving solutions can support a safer, and more effective automated septage receiving program. Read on to explore these considerations
Some things to consider when designing and developing an automated septic receiving station for your program:
- Type of waste received – Depending on your local regulations, commercial and industrial waste may require pre-approval. Requiring further pre-treatment.
- Domestic
- Commercial
- Industrial
- Customer service – Septage stations have customers — which are your haulers, and providers. Ask them what they need to make their experience at your facility better. Make them part of the process, which is key in automated septage receiving.
- Unloading facilities should be well-lit with 24-hour access. Turn-arounds should be wide and accessible, or the facility should be drive-through.
- You can even consider adding CCTV for full remote visibility.
- Equipment reliability – Schedule maintenance for slow or off times.
- Competitive rates for purchases and sales. Determine if per-load or per-gallon is the better standard measurement for you.
The current trend in automated wastewater receiving is computerization in record keeping, invoicing, and billing
Automated flow systems are becoming more common across septage receiving operations. In an ideal setup, the driver or operator does little more than connect to the station. Only having to select the type of load, and enter any additional regionally required information through a touchscreen interface. This streamlined process reduces manual handling and helps ensure consistent, accurate data collection. Giving you a completely automated septic receiving system.
While newer or smaller facilities may not immediately justify the upfront investment. Planners should strongly consider automated wastewater receiving when upgrading or remodeling existing stations. Designing with future automation in mind makes it easier to adopt these improvements later. Allowing facilities to modernize operations without significant disruption or redesign.
Automated Septic Receiving with Software: Introducing Septage+
Our automated septage receiving software significantly reduces administrative workload by providing customers with a secure, cloud-based portal that brings routine account tasks together in one centralized system. All tied into a physically accessible automated sewage receiving station.
Through the portal, customers can be enrolled in automatic invoicing, prepay their accounts, and add funds remotely, with access available almost immediately at every septage management facility. With just a few clicks, they can generate detailed usage reports on demand—without phone calls or delays. The result is a streamlined self-service experience that reduces back-and-forth, minimizes manual processing, and improves accuracy across billing and reporting.
For your team, the same portal streamlines internal workflows by centralizing user and account management. Staff can easily add or remove users, control access at each station, and manage customer accounts with full visibility and audit-ready records. Standardized usage reports run in seconds, and whether at initial deployment or years later, our support team can develop custom exports that integrate seamlessly with your existing billing software.
By replacing paper forms, email threads, and repetitive data entry with a single system, your staff can complete updates quickly and consistently. The result is less time spent on routine tasks, fewer errors, faster responses to customer needs, and more capacity for higher-value work.
Protect your investment from the elements with Automated Septage Receiving
Weather conditions present a continual challenge for sewage receiving station operations. In colder regions, operators must protect receiving systems from freezing temperatures, since frozen lines, valves, or tanks can disrupt operations, damage equipment, and result in costly downtime.
Effective weather-proofing is critical to keeping piping, controls, and storage components above freezing, especially at facilities that operate outdoor septic receiving programs. Insulation, heat tracing, and well-designed enclosures all contribute to reliable performance throughout the winter months.
In hot conditions, prolonged heat exposure can compromise system performance. To protect reliability, controllers and sensitive electronics should be located in shaded or enclosed areas to minimize direct sunlight and reduce the potential for overheating or early wear.
Learn More
If you’d like to learn more about designing reliable, weather-resilient, automated sewage receiving facilities, Flowpoint is here to help. Contact us today to discuss your operational needs and explore solutions that keep your system running smoothly year-round.
Designers should account for the final disposition of treated septage in the plant’s overall plan.
While it may seem obvious in hindsight, the consequences of overlooking automated septage receiving during planning can be significant. In one example, an eight-year, $80 million wastewater facility upgrade in North Carolina redesigned nearly every aspect of the plant—except the septage receiving facility.
As a result, the utility later had to spend an additional $1.6 million to redesign and retrofit the facility to support automated septic receiving. This avoidable expense underscores the importance of addressing automated liquid waste receiving early in the planning process.
Taking a proactive approach from the outset helps minimize costly rework. Further reduces unexpected challenges, and ensures automated systems can be implemented smoothly. Delivering better outcomes with fewer surprises over the life of the project.
