Health Issues

The threat of disease is a key problem with treating human wastewater. The epidemics that killed millions of people in the Middle Ages were caused by the mixing of human waste with drinking water supplies. Domestic wastewater contains bacteria and viruses that cause dysentery, hepatitis, and typhoid fever. To protect your health, it's important to exclude these organisms from both surface and groundwater. That is why sewage treatment plants use chlorine and other biocides (substances destructive to many organisms). Fortunately, soil and soil bacteria can effectively remove pathogenic (disease-causing) microorganisms from wastewater treated in a properly functioning septic system.

Nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus, contained in domestic wastewater, can cause both health and nuisance problems if allowed to reach surface or groundwater supplies. Nitrogen in its nitrate form poses the most significant threat to our health. When ingested by infants, nitrate can interfere with the blood's ability to carry oxygen, causing "blue baby" syndrome. Nitrogen carried in septic tank wastewater is usually in the form of ammonia. This ammonia is readily transformed into nitrate, which can easily become part of ground and surface water supplies.

Nutrients also fuel the growth of algae and are responsible for the subsequent loss of oxygen, causing serious problems for our local water bodies.

The Westchester County Department of Health provides more information on septic system maintenance and has lists of licensed septic contractors, professional engineers, and registered architects.