CODE OF PRACTICE

WASTEWATER TREATMENT AND DISPOSAL

SYSTEMS SERVING SINGLE HOUSES

(p.e. ≤ 10)

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

An Ghníomhaireacht um Chaomhnú Comhshaoil
PO Box 3000, Johnstown Castle, Co. Wexford, Ireland

Telephone: +353 53 916 0600 Fax: +353 53 916 0699

E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.epa.ie
 © Environmental Protection Agency 2009

DISCLAIMER

Although every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the material contained in this
publication, complete accuracy cannot be guaranteed. Neither the Environmental Protection
Agency nor the author(s) accept any responsibility whatsoever for loss or damage occasioned or
claimed to have been occasioned, in part or in full, as a consequence of any person acting, or
refraining from acting, as a result of a matter contained in this publication. All or part of this
publication may be reproduced without further permission, provided the source is acknowledged.

CODE OF PRACTICE

WASTEWATER TREATMENT AND DISPOSAL SYSTEMS

SERVING SINGLE HOUSES (p.e. ≤ 10)

Published by the Environmental Protection Agency, Ireland

ISBN: 978-1-84095-196-7 10/09/1500

Price: €20

Environmental Protection Agency i

 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The principal authors of this Code of Practice (CoP) are Ms Margaret Keegan, EPA, and Mr Frank
Clinton, EPA. Mr Laurence Gill, Trinity College Dublin (TCD), provided valuable technical input and
review during the drafting stages. Other personnel involved in the production and preparation of the
code were Mr John Mulqueen, National University of Ireland Galway (NUIG), Dr Michael Rodgers,
NUIG, Dr Cormac O’Suilleabhain, TCD, Mr Niall O’Luanaigh, TCD, Mr Gerard O’Leary, EPA, and Mr
Dermot Burke, EPA. The CoP builds on the EPA 2000 Guidance Manual (Mr John Mulqueen, Dr
Michael Rodgers, Mr Gerard O’Leary and Mr Gerry Carty), which provided a new approach to on-
site wastewater treatment assessment in Ireland.

In order to examine the position in relation to on-site systems (in Ireland and internationally) and to
produce draft guidelines for their future use, a research project in relation to on-site systems was
part-financed by the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund as part of
the Environmental Monitoring, R&D sub-programme of the Operational Programme for
Environmental Services, 1994–1999. The sub-programme was administered on behalf of the
Department of the Environment and Local Government by the Environmental Protection Agency,
which has the statutory function of co-ordinating and promoting environmental research. The study
Small Scale Wastewater Treatment Systems was co-ordinated by the Department of Civil
Engineering, NUIG, from 1995 to 1997.

In late 2000, as part of the Environmental Research, Technological Development and Innovation
(ERTDI) programme 2000–2006, the EPA approved a further research project to be undertaken by
the Department of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering at TCD. The Irish Government
under the National Development Plan 2000–2006 financed the ERTDI programme. This later
project was entitled Establishment of the Hydraulic Performance and Efficiencies of Different
Subsoils and the Effectiveness of Stratified Sand Filters (2000-MS-15-M1). This project was later
extended to examine the efficiencies of subsoils for on-site wastewater treatment and disposal with
respect to endocrine disrupting chemicals. A further research project by TCD on The Effective
Distribution of On-Site Wastewater Effluent into Percolation Areas via Distribution Boxes and
Treatment by Reed Beds Compared to Attenuation of Pollutants in Sandy Subsoils (2005–MS-15)
has recently been completed.

The NUIG and TCD researchers are internationally recognised for their work on wastewater
treatment systems and have published in peer-reviewed international journals and presented their
findings at international conferences. The findings of the research were used to inform the
requirements of the CoP.

The Agency also wishes to acknowledge the contribution of the various sections of the Department
of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government (DoEHLG), National Standards Authority of
Ireland (NSAI), Irish Agrément Board (IAB), An Bord Pleanála, Domestic Effluent Trade Association
(DETA), Geological Survey of Ireland (GSI), the County and City Managers Association, Local
Authority personnel, River Basin District Project co-ordinators, Fisheries Boards, Irish On-Site
Wastewater Association (IOWA) as well as the tutors and participants of the FÁS Site
Characterisation courses and comments by practitioners in the field and the numerous individual
contributors during the consultation period 20th July to 10th September 2007.

Finally, the authors would also like to acknowledge the assistance of EPA colleagues Dr Matthew
Crowe, Mr Donal Daly, Mr Brendan Wall and Mr Leo Sweeney.

Yellowstone Communications Design produced the graphics and its input is acknowledged.

Environmental Protection Agency ii

Abbreviations

Agency Environmental Protection Agency

BAF Biological aerated filters

BOD5 Biochemical oxygen demand (5 day)

BS British Standard

C Capacity

°C Degrees Celsius

CEN Comité Européen de Normalisation (European Committee for Standardisation)

CEN/TR Technical report prepared by CEN

CEN/TS Technical specification prepared by CEN

COD Chemical oxygen demand

CoP Code of Practice

Cu Uniformity co-efficient

DoEHLG Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government

DO Dissolved oxygen

DWF Dry weather flow

EN European Standard (note, prEN indicates draft standard)

EPA Environmental Protection Agency

FETAC Further Education and Training Awards Council

FOG Fats, oils and grease

FWS Free-water surface

g Gram

GSI Geological Survey of Ireland

GWPR Groundwater protection response

GWPS Groundwater protection scheme

h Hour

K Hydraulic conductivity

kg Kilogram

I.S. Irish Standard

ISO International Organisation for Standardisation

l Litre

lcd Litres per capita per day

m Metre

m 3 Cubic metres

mg Milligram

mm Millimetre

MPN Most probable number

m/s Metres per second

NHA National Heritage Area

NSAI National Standards Authority of Ireland

NUI National University of Ireland

p.e. Population equivalent

PFP Preferential flow path

PSD Particle size distribution

Environmental Protection Agency iii

 PT Population total (Population equivalent)

RBC Rotating biological contactors

s Second

SAC Special Area of Conservation

SBR Sequencing batch reactor

SFS Subsurface flow system

S.I. Statutory Instrument

SPA Special Protection Area

SS Suspended solids

T/P The T-value (expressed as min/25 mm) is the time taken for the water level to drop a specified
distance in a percolation test hole. For shallow subsoils the test hole requirements are different
and hence the test results are called P-values. For further advice see Annex C.

TSS Total suspended solids

TWL Top water level

WT Water table

Environmental Protection Agency iv

Preface

The Agency is authorised under Section 76 of development, provisions of the

the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) development plan and other policies, etc.
Act, 1992 (as amended), to prepare and
publish codes of practice for the purpose of • The need for design of on-site wastewater
providing guidance with respect to compliance disposal systems specific to the local
with any enactment or otherwise, for the conditions
purposes of environmental protection. This
• The need for follow-through by the
Code of Practice (CoP) replaces previous
builder/homeowner/supervisory authority –
guidance issued by the Agency in 2000 and
i.e. installation/commissioning/maintenance
incorporates requirements of the new
as per design and attendant
European standards from the 12566 series,
recommendations/conditions – otherwise
EPA research findings and feedback on
breaches of various legislative codes are
previous EPA guidance and research reports.
occurring.
The document is published as a CoP under
Section 76 of the Environmental Protection The purpose of this CoP is to provide guidance
Agency Act, 1992 (as amended), and shall be on the provision of wastewater treatment and
received in evidence without further proof. disposal systems for new single houses with a
population equivalent (p.e.) of less than or
This CoP will replace the guidance document equal to 10 and contains the following:
Standard Recommendation I.S. SR 6:1991
issued by the National Standards Authority of • An assessment methodology to determine
Ireland when the Department of the site suitability for on-site wastewater
Environment, Heritage and Local Government treatment systems and to identify minimum
incorporates the CoP in the Building environmental protection requirements
Regulations.
• A methodology to select suitable
wastewater treatment systems for sites in
When on-site systems fail to operate
un-sewered rural areas
satisfactorily they threaten public health and
water quality. When domestic wastewater is • Information on the design and installation of
not absorbed by the soil it can form stagnant septic tank systems, filter systems and
pools on the ground surface. In such failures, packaged treatment systems
humans can come in contact with the
wastewater and be exposed to pathogens; also • Information on tertiary treatment systems,
foul odours can be generated. In addition, and
inadequately treated wastewater through poor
siting, design and/or construction may lead to • Maintenance requirements.
contamination of our groundwaters and surface
waters, which in many areas are also used as This CoP has been prepared having regard to
drinking water supplies. It is essential that this current standards and guidelines and will assist
effluent is properly treated and disposed of. planning authorities, builders, system
manufacturers, system designers, system
installers and system operators to deal with the
The key messages of the CoP are: complexities of on-site systems for single
houses.
• The importance of proper site assessment,
taking account of not only local conditions Site suitability assessors should carry out all
specific to the proposed site but also of assessments in accordance with the guidance
wider experience in the area, patterns of provided in this CoP. The site suitability

Environmental Protection Agency vi

 Code of Practice: Wastewater Treatment and Disposal Systems Serving Single Houses (p.e. ≤ 10)

assessment methodology set out in this systems used to treat and dispose of domestic
document should be used by planning wastewater from single houses. Guidance on
authorities to satisfy the requirements of good practice is included in Part Two and
Article 22 (c) of the Planning and Development informs the implementation of the requirements
Regulations, 2006. There is also an obligation of Part One.
on the proposed house builder/owner to ensure
that any planning application submitted should The figures and diagrams in this CoP are for
include an assessment of the site and illustration purposes to assist the users of this
recommendations in accordance with the code. They should not be considered as
guidance provided in this CoP. In addition, it is substitutes for detailed design drawings.
essential that the wastewater treatment system
installed on site complies with the conditions of The code will be subject to ongoing review. The
planning and that the system is properly Agency welcomes any suggestions, that users
installed and maintained in accordance with the of the CoP wish to make. These should be
guidance in Sections 11 and 12. returned to the Office of Environmental
Enforcement at the Environmental Protection
The CoP is divided into two parts: Part One Agency Regional Inspectorate, McCumiskey
sets out requirements for on-site wastewater House, Richview, Clonskeagh Rd, Dublin 14.

Environmental Protection Agency vii

 Table of Contents

Disclaimer i

Acknowledgements ii

Abbreviations iii

Preface vi

List of Figures xi

List of Tables xiii

PART ONE: CODE OF PRACTICE 1

1 Scope 1

2 References 2

3 Definitions 3

4 Wastewater Characteristics 6

5 On-Site Wastewater Treatment System Performance 7

5.1 Performance Standards 8

6 Site Characterisation 10

6.1 Desk Study 11

6.2 On-Site Assessment 13
6.3 Discharge Route 16
6.4 Selecting an Appropriate On-Site Domestic Wastewater Treatment and Disposal System 17
6.5 Site Improvement Works 17
6.6 Recommendations 18

7 Septic Tank Systems 19

7.1 Septic Tanks 19

7.2 Percolation Areas 21

8 Secondary Treatment: Systems Constructed On-Site 25

8.1 Soil Filter Systems 27

8.2 Sand Filter Systems 29
8.3 Drainage and Sealing of Filter Systems 31

Environmental Protection Agency viii

 8.4 Mounded Intermittent Filter Systems 31

8.5 Application of Wastewater to Filter Systems 33

8.6 Constructed Wetlands 33

9 Secondary Treatment: Packaged Wastewater Systems 37

9.1 Location of Packaged Wastewater Systems 38

9.2 Biological Aerated Filter (BAF) Systems 38

9.3 Rotating Biological Contactor (RBC) Systems 38

9.4 Sequencing Batch Reactor System (SBR) 39

9.5 Membrane Filtration Systems 40

9.6 Media Filter Systems 40

9.7 Other Treatment Systems 41

10 Tertiary Treatment Systems 43

10.1 Polishing Filters 43

10.2 Constructed Wetlands 45

10.3 Packaged Tertiary Treatment Systems 45

11 Construction and Installation Issues 46

11.1 Septic Tanks and Pipework 46

11.2 Secondary Treatment: Package Wastewater Systems 47

11.3 Infiltration Systems 47

11.4 Installation 48

12 Operation and Maintenance of Wastewater Treatment Systems 51

12.1 Introduction 51

12.2 Record Keeping 52

PART TWO: GUIDANCE 53

Annex A Policy Background 53

Annex B Groundwater Protection Response 57

Annex C Site Characterisation 63

Annex D Discharge Options 89

Annex E Wastewater Treatment and Disposal Systems 91

Environmental Protection Agency ix

 Annex F Site Improvement Works 96

Annex G Operation and Maintenance 97

Annex H References and Reading Material 102

Environmental Protection Agency x

 List of Figures

Figure 5.1 Methods of wastewater treatment in line with EN 12566 7

Figure 6.1 Schematic of source–pathway–target model 10

Figure 6.2 A general guide to the selection of an on-site wastewater treatment system
discharging to ground 12

Figure 7.1 Plan and section of layout of septic tank system 20

Figure 7.2 Longitudinal section of a typical septic tank (all dimensions in mm) 21

Figure 7.3 Section of a percolation trench 22

Figure 7.4 Raised percolation area 23

Figure 8.1 Illustration of a pumped distribution system 26

Figure 8.2 Illustration of intermittent filter system or constructed wetland system 27

Figure 8.3 Schematic diagram of an intermittent soil filter 27

Figure 8.4 Intermittent sand filter system with underlying sand/subsoil polishing filter 29

Figure 8.5 Schematic cross section of stratified sand filter 31

Figure 8.6 Intermittent sand filter overlying impervious subsoil/bedrock with

offset polishing filter 32

Figure 8.7 Intermittent soil filter (above ground) 32

Figure 8.8 Horizontal subsurface flow reed bed 34

Figure 8.9 Vertical subsurface flow reed bed 35

Figure 9.1 Schematic of a biological aerated filter system (BAF) 38

Figure 9.2 Schematic of a rotating biological contactor (RBC) system 39

Figure 9.3 Schematic of a sequencing batch reactor (SBR) system 39

Figure 9.4 Schematic layout of a membrane filtration system 40

Figure 9.5 Schematic of a packaged peat filter system 41

Figure 9.6 Illustration of a package system and polishing filter system 42

Figure 11.1 Infiltration trenches – layout examples 49

Figure B.1 Relative location of wells 61

Environmental Protection Agency xi

Figure C.1 Indicator plants of dry and wet conditions 66

Figure C.2 Close-up of mottling in trial hole 67

Figure C.3 Idealised cross section of the T-test holes and the proposed percolation trench 73

Figure C.4 Cross section of the P-test holes and the proposed percolation trench 75

Figure E.1 Illustration of biomat formation on the base of a percolation trench 92

Environmental Protection Agency xii

 List of Tables

Table 4.1 Range of raw domestic wastewater influent characteristics (I.S. EN 12566-3:2005) 6

Table 5.1 On-site domestic wastewater treatment minimum performance standards 9

Table 6.1 Minimum separation distances in metres 14

Table 6.2 Depth requirements on-site for on-site systems discharging to ground 14

Table 6.3 Interpretation of percolation test results 16

Table 7.1 Nominal septic tank capacity for various design populations 21

Table 7.2 Percolation trench length 21

Table 7.3 Requirements of a percolation trench (gravity fed) 23

Table 8.1 Soil filter requirements 28

Table 8.2 Sand filter requirements 30

Table 8.3 Criteria for constructed wetland systems receiving septic tank effluent 35

Table 10.1 Minimum soil polishing filter areas and percolation trench lengths required
for a five-person house 44

Table 10.2 Criteria for sand-polishing filter 45

Table 10.3 Criteria for tertiary treatment 45

Table 11.1 Gradients for drain to septic tank 47

Table 12.1 Installation, inspection and monitoring schedule 52

Table B.1 Characteristics of domestic wastewater for a single house 58

Table B.2 Response matrix for on-site treatment systems 59

Table B.3 Recommended minimum distance between a receptor and a percolation area or
polishing filter 62

Table C.1 Factors to be considered during visual assessment 64

Table C.2 Factors to be considered during a trial hole examination 67

Table C.3 Subsoil classification against T-values for 400 T-tests (Jackson, 2005) 68

Table C.4 Step 3 of percolation test (T-test) procedure 73

Table C.5 Standard Method 74

Environmental Protection Agency xiii

Table C.6 Modified Method 75

Table C.7 Information obtained from desk study and on-site assessment 76

Table E.1 Attributes of a typical septic tank 93

Table E.2 Factors used to compare different wastewater treatment systems 94

Environmental Protection Agency xiv