| Quality of Wastewater | ||||
| Internal water use | Conservative water use. Use water - conserving fixtures. Routinely check for and repair leaks. Water softener recharges are infrequent or not connected to septic tank. | Moderate water use. Use a few water - conserving fixtures. Periodically check for and repair leaks. Water softening recharges to septic tank twice per week or less. | High water use. Use very few water - conserving fixtures. Rarely check for and repair leaks. Water softening recharges to septic tank more than twice a week. | Excessive water use. Use no water - conserving fixtures, never check for and repair leaks, and water softening recharges to septic tank more than twice per week. |
| Unnecessary water entering treatment or disposal system | No inflow. Rain - water runoff and roof drains are diverted away from septic tank and disposal area. The basement or foundation drain is not connected to the system. | Moderate inflow. Rain - water runoff and roof drains are diverted away from septic tanks and disposal area. However, the system does receive water from either foundation or basement drains. | High inflow. Neither rainwater runoff nor roof drains are diverted away from the drain field and septic tank. The septic tank receives water from basement or foundation drains. | Excessive inflow. Rainwater runoff and roof drain flow directly over septic tank or drain field. Septic tank receives flow from foundation and basement drains. |
| Quality of Wastewater | ||||
| Solids | No use of garbage disposal unit in kitchen sink. | Minimal use of garbage disposal (1 to 2 times per week). | Moderate use of garbage disposal unit (3 to 5 times per week) | Daily use of garbage disposal unit. |
| Chemicals | Minimal use of household chemicals (cups per week). No disposal of solvents and toxic cleaning agents. No water softener or not recharged on site. | Careful use of household chemicals (pints per week). Minimal disposal of solvents and toxic cleaning agents. Water softener used, recharged on site. | Moderate use of household chemicals (quarts per week). Moderate disposal of solvents and toxic cleaning agents. | Extensive use of household chemicals (gallons per week). Extensive disposal of solvents and toxic cleaning agents. |
| Oils/Grease | No disposal of grease or oils into sewer. Domestic wastes only. | Minimal disposal of grease / oils. Oil and grease wiped from cooking utensils before washing. | Moderate disposal of grease / oils. No attempt to reduce disposal of grease/oil from household, but little generated. | Extensive disposal of grease / oils. |
| Pre - treatment System | ||||
| Cesspool (these are illegal systems) | Any cesspool, direct discharge of water, injection well or seepage pit. | |||
| Septic tank | More than one tank in series or two - com - partment tank. Tank made of reinforced concrete. Liquid capacity of tank is equal to or greater than 300 gallons times the number of bedrooms. Tanks pumped every 3 years. | One tank or one - com - partment tank. Tank made of reinforced concrete, polyethene or fiberglass. Liquid capacity of tank is less than 300 gallons times the number of bedrooms. Tanks pumped every 5 years. | Metal or cinder block tank. Total liquid capacity less than 500 gallons. Tank is pumped every 7 or more years. | Any homemade devices, particularly with small volumes. Tank or device has never been pumped. |
| Packaged aerobic system | Maintenance program followed. | No main - tenance program, but no noticeable failures. | No main - tenance, occasional failures. | No main - tenance, frequent system failure. |
| Tablet chlorinator | Chlorine tablets present. Strong chlorine smell. | Chlorine tablets are dis - integrated and caked on walls, but a chlorine smell is present. | Chlorine tablets are dis - integrated and caked on walls and no chlorine smell is present. | No chlorine is in chlorinator and no chlorine smell is present. |
| Disposal of Wastewater | ||||
| Horizontal separation of wastewater disposal site from water supply (sub-surface or surface) | Offsite disposal. | Subsurface disposal downslope more than 50 feet from well. Surface disposal more than 200 feet from well. | Subsurface disposal downslope less then 50 feet from well. Surface disposal less than 200 feet from well. | Upslope from well. |
| Vertical separation of wastewater disposal site from water supply (subsurface) | Offsite disposal. | More than 6 feet to saturated soil or bedrock. | 3 to 6 feet to saturated soil or bedrock. | Less than 3 feet to saturated soil or bedrock. |
| Soils | Offsite disposal. | Medium- or fine - textured soils (silt loam, loam, clay loams, clay). | Medium- to coarse - textured soils (sandy loam, sands). | Very coarse sands or gravel. |
| Subsurface disposal system | Pressurized system which uniformly applies effluent throughout entire field. Shallow trenches or bed covered with healthy veg - etation. Vegetation harvested regularly. | Pressurized system which uniformly applies effluent throughout entire field. Deep trenches or bed without covering of healthy veg - etation. | Gravity system with shallow trenches. There is healthy veg - etation above trenches and veg - etation is regularly harvested. | Gravity system with deep trenches or bed. There is little veg - etation above trenches or bed. |
| Surface application disposal system | Irrigation area is covered with healthy veg - etation. Vegetation is harvested regularly. Area appears to produce little or no runoff. | Irrigation area is covered with healthy veg - etation. Vegetation is rarely harvested and it appears that irrigation is producing runoff. | Irrigation area has bare spots and it appears that irrigation is producing runoff. | Irrigation area is totally bare and is producing channelized runoff from the site. |
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TEX*A*Syst is a series of publications to help rural residents assess the risk of ground water pollution, and to describe Best Management Practices (BMPs) that can help protect ground water. The TEX*A*Syst documents were developed from the national Farm*A*Syst ground water protection program. The TEX*A*Syst system is designed to help the user learn more about the environment, existing environmental policies and regulations, and recommended management practices. Thus, the user can voluntarily reduce the pollution risks associated with water wells.
TEX*A*Syst materials were edited by Anna Schuster Kantor, and reviewed by M.C. Dozier and the personnel of the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Texas Department of Agriculture, Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission, Texas Water Development Board, Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board, Texas Water Resources Institute, and Texas Farm Bureau. Editorial and formatting assistance were provided by the Department of Agriculture, The Texas A&M University System. |
September 20, 1998
Dennis Hoffman, Project Leader
Steve Dagitz, Webmaster