Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Septic Systems

[Melanie Mindlin (sassetta]

Hi Kayelily,

I haven’t put in a community septic system, but am writing to urge you to 
investigate other more ecological waste treatment options.  I work with Recode, 
an organization in Oregon promoting next generation waste treatment.  Septic 
systems infiltrate waste into the ground at a level where biological activity 
cannot help break down the nutrient load resulting in plumes of nitrites and 
nitrates moving into the ground water and often surfacing in nearby streams.  
This 60 year old technology was meant by its originators to be a stop-gap 
measure that assumed everyone would soon be on municipal treatment.  It has 
become a staple for regulators and installers because it is simple and 
widely-accepted.

In the Southern US, there are many individual and community small engineered 
wetland waste treatment systems.  These take up surprisingly little land, very 
likely not more than the equivalent leach fields, and can be quite beautiful.  
They are also reputed to cost less to install, and although there will probably 
be design and regulatory costs greater than the well-known septic systems, you 
would very likely save money in the long run, especially since you would be 
doing it as a community.

Good luck with your project.
Melanie Mindlin

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>   1. Septic systems........ (Cohousing)
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> Message: 1
> Date: Thu, 22 Dec 2016 22:46:09 -0500
> From: Cohousing <cohousing [at] mindspring.com>
> To: cohousing-l [at] cohousing.org
> Subject: [C-L]_ Septic systems........
> Message-ID: <81027813-CBAD-4285-9215-74ED9C360A0D [at] mindspring.com>
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> We at Raleigh Cohousing, a forming group searching for land and finding 
> beautiful land but no municipal water and sewer nearby to hook into, want to 
> know from this group if any of you had to put in septic systems or a 
> centralized septic system on your cohousing property?
> 
> If so, please tell me in general, if you can, the amount of acreage the 
> septic tanks and leaching fields took and the cost? I know it varies from 
> state to state, county to county, etc. 
> 
> If a centralized treatment system, what was the cost of the system, 
> installation and maintenance involved? 
> 
> Thanks for your help! 
> 
> 
> Kayelily and the land team!
> Raleigh-cohousing.com <http://raleigh-cohousing.com/> 
> 
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> End of Cohousing-L Digest, Vol 155, Issue 24
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