DEFINITONS BALLOON (Environmental Protection Agency: Definition of terms and Descriptions of Wastewater Systems) Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD): A commonly used determinant of the organic strength of waste. Total Suspended Solids (TSS): A measure of the suspended solids found in wastewater.
Taking the Waste out of Wastewater
By Eric Leach, Spiral Alternatives
Picture a fifty-gallon barrel. It might be full of used motor oil at the auto mechanics shop, or full of toxic waste with some crazy logo on the side. Well, we each have our own fifty-gallon barrel and we fill it twice a day. “Every person uses close to one hundred gallons of water a day,” according to HomeLink magazine (Winter 2008, p. 25).
Where your yearly 36,500 gallons of waste go depends on where you live. You may be connected to a municipal sewer or have a septic system for your property. Wouldn't it be nice if we could reclaim at least some of that wastewater and reuse it beneficially?
Biologic advances in wastewater technology have recently made reclamation for irrigation purposes a realistic alternative to traditional disposal methods. Wastewater reclamation is a two step process. Raw wastewater is first treated to government standards to eliminate solids and pollutants, after which a dispersal system safely distributes the treated effluent.
Prior to the invention of aerobic bacterial generators, onsite treatment of raw wastewater was cost prohibitive for small communities and single family residences. An aerobic bacterial generator (or ABG) is a miniaturized and modularized sewage treatment plant. One small unit will treat a single family home and multiple units can be linked for community sized projects (see photo). ABGs efficiently convert raw wastewater from residences and commercial properties into secondary treated effluent (see definitions) on-site.
Aerobic Bacterial Generators utilize biotechnology in the form of microbiology to accomplish the almost complete digestion of the solids and pollutants found in wastewater. The ABG unit is placed directly in the septic tank and is inoculated with aerobic (oxygen loving) bacteria commonly found in forest leaf litter. These bacteria are the absolute best at decomposing organic matter. The unit is supplied with air from an external electric pump and becomes the center of a self regulating bacterial colony. The more food (wastewater), the more bacteria. The pumping of air to the unit vigorously circulates the contents of the tank and provides ideal conditions for the bacterial colony to thrive and do what it does best: decompose.
Secondary treated effluent is the result of a mechanically simple yet biologically complex living system. The biologically processed wastewater is now ready for a variety of dispersal options.
Installing an ABG in a new or existing septic system will reduce the need for costly pumping, eliminate odors and greatly improve the overall performance of the system as well as protect our precious water resources from possible contamination. It also gives the property owner the option to reuse the processed wastewater for low-impact/zero impact irrigation with an appropriately designed system.
If reclamation of wastewater is the goal, there are numerous products specifically designed for the dispersal of treated wastewater by sub-surface irrigation. Flexible tubing and drip emitters release the effluent at a depth of six to ten inches-the active root zone of the soil-where both additional nutrients and moisture are readily absorbed by plant life. Reclamation projects around the world are turning wastewater into golf courses, common areas, ball fields, lawns, landscape beds, and have even rehabilitated stands of drought-stricken native trees. These systems are designed to operate year round in any climate.
When you take the waste out of wastewater all you are left with is water,
barrels and barrels of water. 
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