ABE 459/559

Design of
Onsite Wastewater Treatment Systems

Dr. Kitt Farrell-Poe
(Dr. Farrell-Poe's Homepage)
University of Arizona

 

Material last reviewed: January 10, 2012

 

This is a 3-credit web course about the design of onsite wastewater treatment and dispersal systems for engineers. It will cover issues and concepts relating to the design of domestic and small commercial onsite wastewater treatment and recycling systems, including:

  • Arizona regulations
  • Site and soil evaluation
  • Soil interactions with treated effluent
  • Technology selection
  • Design of simple and specialized treatment systems
  • Operation and monitoring of simple and complex systems
  • Management of onsite wastewater treatment systems
  • Septage management
  • Water reuse

Every Thursday, new material will be presented and homework and discussion questions assigned. I will use D2L, email, and/or a listserver to announce the topics that we will be covering (with no links to the topics), homework, and discussion question assignments, as well as their due dates.

You don't have any required text, BUT you will need to download a copy or bookmark the appropriate sections of the Arizona Adminstrative Code:

Arizona Administrative Code, Aquifer Protection Permits [Title 18. Environmental Quality, Chapter 9. Department of Environmental Quality Water Pollution Control, Article 3. Aquifer Protection Permits-General Permits].

  1. The original code is available in the following formats:
    1. http://www.azsos.gov/public_services/Title_18/18-09.htm
    2. http://www.azsos.gov/PUBLIC_SERVICES/Title_18/18-09.rtf
    3. http://www.azsos.gov/PUBLIC_SERVICES/Title_18/18-09.pdf
  2. Limit yourself to:
    1. R18-9-A310. Site Investigation For On-site Wastewater Treatment Facilities through R18-9-A316. Transfer Inspection For On-site Wastewater Treatment Facilities AND
    2. R18-9-E302. 4.02 General Permit: Septic Tank With Disposal by Trench, Bed, Chamber Technology, or Seepage Pit, Less Than 3000 Gallons Per Day Design Flow through R18-9-E322. 4.22 General Permit: Subsurface Drip Irrigation Disposal, Less Than 3000 Gallons Per Day Design Flow AND
    3. Table 1. Unit Daily Design Flows

Supplement Reading (Optional, but Recommended):

  1. Burks, Bennette D. and Mary Margaret Minnis. 1994. Onsite Wastewater Treatment Systems. Hogarth House, LTD, Madison, WI. [Available from your instructor for $25]
  2. Crites, Ron and George Tchobanoglous. 1998. Small and Decentralized Wastewater Management Systems. McGraw-Hill, Boston, MA.

Additionally, there will be additional supplemental reading or websites listed at the end of many learning modules.

Useful links for the course:

bullet Syllabus: HTML, PDF
bullet Course Topical Outline
bullet Homework Assignments
bullet Discussion Questions
bullet Resource Files
bullet Request for Turning in Late Homework Form: HTML, PDF, RTF

Password-Protected Area/Files
(To gain access to the following files, you will need the class login and password. Please contact instructor for directions.)

bullet Course Schedule (with Lecture modules, homework, reading, and discussion question assignments)
bullet Background & Review Modules

 

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