Problem: What happens when there’s no room for a drainfield? You leave it out altogether. With a residential home in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, that’s what engineers did. The homeowners had a conventional septic system with a drainfield that dispersed into poor soils. When the drainfield failed and needed to be replaced, the lot was too small for a new one and sewer service was unavailable.
Solution: Enter engineer Kevin Davidson of Agri-Waste Technology. He and the area’s Orenco sales manager had an idea. The homeowners could install an AdvanTex AX20-RT unit with UV disinfection. This would provide an extremely high level of wastewater treatment through use of a packed-bed media filter and ultraviolet disinfection. The treated effluent was expected to meet National Pollutant Discharge Elimination permit limits for surface discharge into a ditch or body of water, eliminating the need for a drainfield.
Result: The North Carolina Department of Water Quality approved the permit. After the homeowners purchased equipment from AQWA, installation crews completed the project in three days. “AX-RT is the best unit, when you look at aesthetics, installation cost, ability to treat waste, and support from Orenco,” says Davidson. “Compared to other technologies, I would grade Orenco at the top.” 800-348-9843; www.orenco.com
