Sponsored by PortALogic

A septage receiving station in Livingston County, Mich., was designed with input from 20 area septic service contractors. Many of their suggestions were incorporated into the facility, which made dumping faster, easier and cleaner for the pumpers. As a result, more contractors use the station, making it an effective way for the county to handle the waste stream.

Drivers swipe a card to enter the station, then dump the load, collect necessary paperwork and get back on the road in 20 minutes. Technology from PortALogic (www.portalogic.info) controls the process, from access to the dump bays to automatically issuing multiple adhesive-backed receipts showing the volume, truck number, time, and pH. Haulers slap them on the sample bottle, their manifest, and the manifest copy. A video surveillance system enables them to see if trucks are waiting outside.

Since the $3.1 million station opened in 2007, annual septage volume has risen from 3.7 million to 18 million metered gallons. The Livingston County facility could be a model for the modernization of other septage receiving stations.