Meet our septic system. It takes black water from the toilet and grey water from the rest of the house and processes it into clean water than is sent out into the open drains in the neighborhood.
WHAT?!
Yep. That’s right. The FujiClean CA-5 is a self-contained wastewater treatment plant. It will turn poop and household wastewater into 95% clean water in 1-2 weeks. It’s very fancy.
The process starts with a sedimentation filter tank (1) and anaerobic filter bed (2) that eats waste with bacteria. An air powered pump transfers sludge from the anaerobic process back into the sedimentation tank. The cleaner water moves down into the contact filter bed (3) then treated water is stored in a holding tank (4). Overflow from that tank is disinfected (5) before being released from the system.
Released to where? In our case, the treated water will exit into an open drain that connects into community drains and then into a river. In other cases, there is a drain field where the treated water is absorbed into the earth.
It needs regular maintenance so someone will come twice a year to make sure everything’s running smoothly, and if all goes as planned, the sedimentation tank will need to be pumped out every other year or so.
During the excavation, we discovered a stub of the mountain water system buried underground, but with a tap on it. It made a muddy fountain when the tap was opened! Since it was clearly not in use, the contractor trimmed it back and capped it off near the barn.
Wastewater’s not the most thrilling part of the house, but its critical to having a good living environment. I am happy that this part of the build is ready for us.
Also during the excavation, the electrical and network cables got their run to the barn. And I took photos so we can remember where they are once they are buried in hardscaping or whatever we end up doing.
