Questions about Aerobic Wastewater Treatment Systems

Factual Questions
1

I’m planning on building a home in a rural part of the Great and Sovereign State of Missouri in the not to distant future, and I’m considering what kind of onsite wastewater system I should install. The land I will be building on is heavily wooded and the soil consists of a thin layer of topsoil (maybe 12 inches) over heavy clay. The soil is considered unsuitable for a typical septic tank and drainfield type of wastewater system. Lagoons are the norm in the area.

I dislike even the idea of a wastewater lagoon, and I absolutely hate the idea of clearing a huge swath of trees to make room for one. So, I’m looking for alternatives that will be both more pleasant and less destructive. Aerobic Wastewater systems look like one possibility, but my searches are turning up mostly general information, not specifics. For instance, I’ve read that it requires less land than drainfields and lagoons, but not how much it does require (I’m sure it varies, but I’d like to have some idea).

So, if anyone here has experience with an aerobic system, here’s some questions:
[ul]
[li]How much space does it occupy? (will I actually be able to save trees by installing one instead of building a lagoon?)[/li][li]What stages does the system have? (pretreatment, aerobic treatment, disinfection, others?)[/li][li]Does it perform adequately?[/li][li]How much does it cost to install?[/li][li]How much does it cost to operate over a year?[/li][li]How noisy are the mechanical parts?[/li][li]Are the mechanical parts reliable?[/li][/ul]

Also, I’m not considering only aerobic systems. I’m also looking into sand filter systems and others, but I’ve just begun really. I would be grateful for suggestions of other alternative wastewater systems to research, or information resources to explore.

Thanks.

2

That’s interesting. No one has, or had, one of these systems?

3

I would contact the Missouri Department of Health - Section for Environmental Public Health. They have a toll-free number. Since all onsite sewage systems must be permitted, they will be up to speed on what is acceptable in their State. The link also goes to the State regulations which should help you as well.

4

I just built in Warren County Missouri. The proceedure there is to have a certified soil engineer come out and make some test pits. He furnishes a report to the health dept and they tell you the details of what they will allow in each location. How much leach field, how big a sand mound etc. for each type of system allowed.

Talk to the county health dept. They were very helpful to me. I did some investigation on a wetlands system, but decided it was too much trouble.