Distance from the cesspool to the beds. Cesspool for Sanpin standards

When building a house in the country, a person dreams of how he will while away the warm summer evenings in comfort and tranquility. But not every summer cottage has a good house. And the presence of any building does not guarantee a pleasant pastime. A city person needs the basic ability to take a shower and wash the dishes. And to achieve such comfort in a private home, you need to build a water supply. But in the area of summer cottages, sewerage is not always installed.

The cesspool is built in compliance with sanitary standards

Fortunately, there is a solution for this situation. We need to build a cesspool. True, not everyone knows how to do this, but creating such a structure on a site requires knowing certain norms and sanitary rules. Therefore, we will tell you how to make a sewer pit on a summer cottage, and what you will need for this.

Positive and negative sides of a cesspool

A cesspool allows a person to enjoy comfort even in places where civilization has not yet reached. But like all things, it has its pros and cons. The advantages of such a drain include:

This building does not pollute the environment. According to the rules of Sanpin 42, the waste inlet must be sealed. And this will ensure that nothing can leak out of it into the ground, polluting the soil and water.
This type of drain is easy to install and easy to operate.
Sewage of this type does not depend on the level of underground water sources.
The soil where the drain is installed does not affect its operation.

The disadvantages of such a building include:

The cesspool requires regular calls for vacuum cleaners

the possibility of the appearance of a sewage smell, if water from a well is used, this problem is easily solved with the help of plastic containers;
it is necessary to regularly call a special service to clean the drain; if you live where there is such a structure, then cleaning work must be carried out every two weeks.

How to choose the right place to build a sewer pit

Selecting an area for the construction of such a structure as a sewer drain is not as easy as we would like. To choose the right place, you need to take into account sanitary standards. The distance to a cesspool from a house or any other building is five meters or more, and thirty meters to drinking water. Existing rules and regulations state that the boundary of your property must be at least two meters from the sewer drain.

When building a sewer system, you must count on the possibility of access for sewerage trucks. Travel should not be difficult and should be done with ease.

Another requirement for the location of the cesspool is its distance from garden plants and a vegetable garden. If there is a source of clean water on the site, then the distance from the cesspool to the well should be 30 meters, otherwise the water will become dangerous to human health.

When building a sewer system, you need to take into account that neighbors live next to your house, and the drainage pit is made taking into account the neighboring buildings. There are certain rules and regulations approved in SanPiN 42-128-4690-88 (or abbreviated No. 4690-88), according to which such a structure can be built at a distance of at least 20 meters from neighbors.

The question arises: is it possible to construct a drain outside the site? This cannot be done, since this is no longer your private property, and by law you do not have the right to carry out any construction work on it. Otherwise, it will be considered as self-seizure of territory.

How to calculate the dimensions of a cesspool

The first thing you should consider when building a cesspool is that the depth of this structure should not exceed three meters. If it is made deeper, the cleaning company will not be able to clean out the sewage completely, and the sediment will remain at the bottom. If there are not enough volumes, then it is better to increase them due to the circumference of the pit itself.

The volume of the pit is calculated based on how many people live in the house, as well as how often they visit there. An average family of four can use up to 15 cubic meters of water per month. Sewerage is done with a margin of approximately 40%. Based on this, you need to make a cesspool of 20 cubic meters. However, it is better to make a larger supply or call a sewer service more often to remove waste.

What types of drainage pits are there?

There are two types of drains:

hermetically sealed;
having no bottom.

Cesspools without a bottom, according to SNiP, are permitted in cases where no more than one cubic meter of water is used per day. Sanitary rules state that in such cases the cesspool should be installed below the level of drinking water, otherwise there is a possibility of its contamination, and the well from which you drink will not be usable.

SNiP provides for the distance of such a pit to a water source. If the soil in the pit is made of clay, then the distance to the well, according to the standards, is at least 20 meters. If the soil is light, like chernozem, the distance will be 30 meters. If the soil is sandy, then the distance from the pit to the well is maintained at 50 meters.

A sealed pit sump is suitable for areas using more than 1 kb per day

If your site will use more than one cubic meter of water per day, then you should consider the option of a sealed cesspool, since waste sludge may be absorbed into the ground. They are made of brick, metal, and poured concrete. For the convenience of people, there are companies that produce ready-made drains. Cesspools are also made from a ready-made pit for waste. This is done if the sewerage system that exists on the site can no longer cope with the volume of wastewater. To accommodate all the waste, the pit is redone and expanded.

When constructing a sewer system, do not forget to provide ventilation. This is an important point, since explosive gas accumulates in the pit, and to avoid trouble, the sewer hatch is equipped with a ventilation pipe with a diameter of ten centimeters.

What materials are cesspools made from?

There are different materials from which cesspools are made. Which of these materials to choose is up to you. Private sewers do:

Exterior view of a brick drain pit

Made from bricks, concrete blocks and stones. For such a pit, the walls and floor are made of brick or stone. Formwork is also installed and concrete is poured into it. This design is more labor-intensive, and its construction will require outside help. A pit made of concrete is materially more expensive. Such a cesspool will be very strong and durable. But today these materials are rarely used, since the manufacturing process is very long. Construction of a pit according to all standards, according to the rules at what distance and where to build is not an easy task.
Cesspools are also made from reinforced concrete rings. You can buy them ready-made and simply install them in a prepared hole.
From metal and plastic barrels. This installation method is the easiest, since ready-made barrels are sold in specialized stores. Finished barrels are manufactured according to all SNiP requirements. On average, the volume of such barrels does not exceed two hundred liters. These dimensions are quite enough for a summer cottage, otherwise you will often need to call a sewer service.

How to build a cesspool

The main factor when building this type of cesspool is to adhere to all government regulations. All requirements can be found in SNiP 2 04 03 85 sewerage, external networks and structures.

One of the most difficult jobs in building a home sewer system is digging a hole for this structure. If you do this manually, the process takes several days. Therefore, if you have the financial opportunity, then call an excavator. Next, it is worth making a choice in the material for the cesspool. Consider all options.

Brick cesspool

In the dug hole, the bottom is leveled as much as possible, and then sand or crushed stone is filled in. This creates a cushion. After this, concrete 10-15 cm thick is poured. The pit is left in this form for two weeks. This measure is necessary so that the concrete is completely dry and work can continue.

After the concrete has completely set, brick laying can be done. This matter does not require serious skills, since no one will see the masonry; the main requirement is that there are no cracks and waste does not leak into the ground.

Next, formwork is built to pour the concrete. Reinforcement is inserted into this ceiling to make the walls stronger. Now the concrete is mixed and poured into the temporary flooring. The pit is left in this form for a month. During this time, the concrete will completely set and the temporary covering can be removed.

Reinforced concrete rings in the production of cesspools

Construction of a cesspool using reinforced concrete rings is a very expensive procedure, but unlike other materials, reinforced concrete will serve you for decades. Therefore, people who have the opportunity to choose from what materials to build a sewage pit choose reinforced concrete circles.

As in the case of a brick pit, sand or crushed stone is first poured onto the bottom, and then concrete is poured. Since such rings are very heavy, the bottom of the pit is made strong and well concreted. After this, a frame is created from reinforcement, and then the installation of reinforced concrete rings begins. They are immersed in the pit using a crane, since a person will not be able to lift them.

The space between the rings is covered with a special waterproof concrete solution, and on the outside the joints are treated with waterproof material. Similar manipulations are carried out with each new ring in the pit. Now the pit is ready, and all you have to do is install the roof. Do not forget about the ventilation pipe, without which you cannot start operating the sewer system, otherwise there is a risk of explosion.

Plastic pits (septic tanks)

Today, it is increasingly rare to find people who construct cesspools using stone or reinforced concrete. These pits, which were difficult to construct, were replaced by plastic ones. They are lightweight and therefore the public demand for them has increased. Such septic tanks are inexpensive, and you can install them yourself.

To do this, you will need to dig a hole of the appropriate size, and pour a thick layer of sand, about 20 cm, onto the bottom. Next, you can install the hole. Please note that the septic tank has two openings:

input;
day off.

So the container will need to be installed in such a way that the inlet is connected to the sewer pipe. Now fill all the voids with soil and your hole is ready. The main thing is that it meets all the standards of SNiP 2 04 01 85.

Normal cesspool

The SNiP cesspool must comply with all standards of FKKO 73210001304. All of them are prescribed in Snip 2 04 01 85.

There are certain rules and regulations for the installation and use of water pipes. They cannot be ignored, since failure to comply with these rules can lead to irreparable consequences:

If you use reinforced concrete or asbestos-cement pipes for water supply, then the distance from them to the sewer system is at least five meters.
If, when laying the water supply, you used cast iron pipes with a diameter of less than 20 cm, then the distance to the cesspool may be one and a half meters, but if the pipe diameter exceeds 20 cm, then the distance increases to three meters.
It is also of great importance to maintain the distance between the cesspool and the gas pipes; it should be five meters or more.
If you ignore this requirement, the pipes may be damaged during sewer construction. If the groundwater is deep, then it will not interfere with the construction of a cesspool.
It is best to build an otkhodnik on a flat area; if there is a slope in the area where you want to install a cesspool, then the construction process will be difficult.
If you know that there is groundwater on your property, it is not recommended to install sewerage downstream. Even if you have a sealed drain, there is always a chance that waste will find its way into the soil and contaminate the source.

Protection of cesspools

The very concept of a cesspool security zone may seem ridiculous to some, but a protective mechanism has been created for this purpose. It is mainly needed for sewers in public places. Where a sewage pit is installed, it can affect people.

Warning signs are installed in such places to avoid emergency situations. There have been cases when a driver, having ignored such a sign, went underground along with the car. There is a list of requirements that must be met in places with cesspools:

Trees and plants cannot be planted in the area where the drain is located.
It is prohibited to carry out above-ground and underground work, with the exception of services that service the drainage work.
It is prohibited to install any buildings at the cesspool site, including storage facilities.
Impact work near the cesspool is also prohibited. Such work should be carried out no closer than 15 meters.
Do not change the amount of soil, as this may lead to collapse.
It is not allowed to light a fire near the drain. Due to the large amount of gas, such procedures are explosive.
Therefore, it is important to comply with all prescribed standards, otherwise emergency situations are likely.
If you follow all the prescribed norms and rules, then it will not be difficult for you to build and legalize the construction.

Many people know what rules govern the construction of such a necessary structure as a cesspool on a private plot: sanitary norms and rules (SanPiN), as well as building norms and rules (SNiP) that determine what sewerage, water supply networks, water protection, etc. are. , and their requirements must be strictly followed. However, not everyone has information about these requirements. The most important of them are given in our article.

Choosing a cesspool location

Using SanPiN 42-128-4690-88 and SNiP 30-02-97, you should first determine the most suitable location of the cesspool on the territory of your summer cottage:

The storage pit for domestic wastewater in a private house should be located in the area immediately adjacent to it.
The cesspool should be located no closer than 10 meters from the central water supply and no less than 20 meters from the drinking water well in order to avoid accidental contamination in the event of an emergency leak in the sanitary treatment facility.
The distance of the cesspool from the house on the site and from houses and structures located on neighboring sites should also be at least 10-12 meters. A closer location of the cesspool to structures can lead to flooding and destruction of the foundation of a building or outbuildings in the event of an emergency.
The distance to the drainage pit from the fence bordering the area must be at least 1 meter.
The depth of the pit is selected depending on the depth of groundwater, and should not exceed 3 meters.

Options for constructing a cesspool

There are two ways to install a sewer system in a small country cottage or garden plot:

use regular ;
create an engineered wastewater storage system.

Features of cesspools without a bottom

The simplest option provided for by SNiP is a cesspool without a bottom. Such structures are allowed to be used when the daily volume of wastewater discharged from the house is no more than 1 cubic meter. According to SanPiN, cesspools without a bottom must be equipped below the drinking water intake level in order to avoid contamination of the water in the well with sewage.

When constructing a cesspool, a number of different parameters must be taken into account. Thus, there are requirements for the relative location of such a pit and a drinking well, depending on the type and properties of the soil on site, where the drainage pit is located - SNiP imposes the following rules:

If the site is dominated by clay soil, the distance should be at least 20 m.
In the case of loamy soil - 30 m.
Sandy and sandy loam soils require the mutual location of the well and cesspool no closer than 50 m from each other.

In the case where more than 1 cubic meter of wastewater is generated daily in a household, you should abandon the option of a cesspool without a bottom and consider the possibility of constructing a cesspool made of concrete, brick or metal on the site. An excellent option would be to use.

Features of sealed cesspools

Sealed cesspools have their own characteristics:

Design features. The bottom of the pit should have a significant slope towards the technological hatch intended for its cleaning.
Choosing a location. As we already know, the distance of the cesspool from the building and from the fence of the site is 10 meters and 1 meter, respectively.
Periodic cleaning. A sealed cesspool is cleaned by specialists using.

Pro tip: Do not build a hole deeper than 3 meters. Otherwise, its emptying will not be effective enough due to the limited length of the hose of the special machine, and all the sludge that forms over time at the bottom of the pit will remain at the bottom.

Ensuring free access of special vehicles to the tank for cleaning.
Possibility of methane formation during operation of the storage tank.

Pro tip: To prevent the accumulation of explosive gas in a sealed container, be sure to equip it with ventilation. Construction standards for a cesspool provide for the installation of a ventilation pipe with a diameter of 10 cm and a height of more than 60 cm above the ground surface.

Communications and cesspools

It would not be superfluous to bring main parameters of the relative position of water and gas pipes and a sealed waste storage facility on the site:

The distance from the storage pit to pipes made of asbestos cement or reinforced concrete is at least 5 m.
The distance to cast iron pipes with a diameter not exceeding 200 mm is at least 1.5 m.
To cast iron pipes with a diameter of more than 200 mm - 3 m.
The minimum distance to gas pipes is 5 m.

The basic requirements for communications located in the local area, as well as the requirements for cesspools, are prescribed in construction and sanitary standards and regulations. Therefore, in order to avoid possible accidents on water and gas pipelines, you should strictly comply with them by installing a wastewater storage facility on your site.

If a person lives in a house, it must have a sewer system, since waste products still need to be removed somehow. And it’s hard to disagree with this, isn’t it? Modern industry offers many solutions: from multi-section septic tanks to neat dry closets. But an ordinary cesspool in a private house is still relevant and in demand.

But, before you start building a cesspool on your site, you will have to weigh the pros and cons. After all, an incorrectly chosen location, and the design of the cesspool itself, subsequently threatens to result in many problems. The most common of them is the appearance of an unpleasant odor. We will tell you how to avoid this problem.

In the article we collected and summarized information about the types and design features of cesspools. In addition, here you can find useful tips and recommendations on how to choose and build a sewer system on your site. The material is accompanied by thematic photos and videos.

A cesspool is perhaps the oldest and simplest type of sewage system. It is a depression in the ground in which wastewater is accumulated and partially processed.

Any wastewater contains a certain amount of bacteria that absorb and transform these accumulations. Part of the filtered wastewater passes into the underlying soils.

Everything that has not been processed and has not gone into the underlying layers should be periodically removed from the cesspool so that the container does not overfill.

Image gallery

At summer cottages, a separate cesspool for the toilet is often installed. It looks like a relatively small depression in the ground, over which a light wooden structure is installed.

When the hole is full, the toilet is removed and the hole is filled with earth. Waste rots in the soil and turns into compost, a useful fertilizer.

In the future, a fruit tree is planted in this place, which will give an excellent harvest in such a well-fertilized place. And for the toilet, they dig a new hole, which is subsequently disposed of in a similar way.

But for the needs of a large house, especially for year-round living, such a solution, of course, is not enough.

The diagram shows the structure of one of the pit options - a filtering sewer well. A structure with sealed walls, at the bottom there is a multi-layer filter made of sand, crushed stone or gravel mixture

Modern cesspools have a fairly large volume, and their walls are constructed from a variety of materials.

It could be:

brick;
aerated concrete blocks;
wood;
old tires, etc.

To construct a simple cesspool, you can now purchase a ready-made one with a hatch and strong walls.

With its help, the process of constructing a mini-sewage system in a suburban area is significantly simplified and accelerated significantly.

The classic version of a cesspool for a country house is a pit about 1.5 m deep with sealed walls and bottom. A hinged lid is installed to pump out and remove wastewater, and a ventilation pipe is installed to remove odors.

When choosing material for a cesspool, it should be taken into account that prolonged contact with an aggressive environment will gradually destroy its walls. To extend the life of the structure, you need to choose materials that are resistant to such impacts.

There are two types of cesspools: sealed And filtering. In the first, wastewater is accumulated and stored until pumped out. Secondly, there is no bottom in the traditional sense of this term, and there may be holes in the walls so that some of the waste enters the ground.

If filtration of wastewater through the walls of the structure is expected, then a gravel-sand filter with a thickness of at least 15 cm is installed around them.

When thinking about a place to place a cesspool, you should immediately take care. The easiest and fastest way to perform this unpleasant procedure is to use a vacuum cleaner. Therefore, sufficient space should be provided for the passage of such equipment.

It also happens that the area for a cesspool that complies with the standards does not allow the use of a sewer truck. In this case, accumulated wastewater is removed using a special pump or an ordinary bucket.

The pit is made airtight or with holes for filtering. The choice is influenced by the groundwater level at the site. If it is less than a meter, the pit must be completely sealed.

Otherwise, runoff may penetrate into the aquifer and negatively affect water quality. It will not be easy to restore its normal composition in such a situation.

For a sealed cesspool, you can take a special plastic container. Such an element must be installed carefully so that the walls do not bend or burst under soil pressure from the outside.

To create a sealed cesspool, the bottom is concreted and the walls of the structure are made without gaps. An alternative option is a plastic container installed inside the pit.

It will also provide the necessary tightness, but it should be remembered that the strength of plastic is significantly inferior to concrete or brick.

If the first aquifer from the surface lies 1 meter or more below the bottom of the pit being constructed, then it can be constructed according to the principle of a filter or absorption well.

The bottom of the pit is formed from material with high filtration properties: sand, crushed stone or gravel with sand filler. The thickness of the filter bed is at least 1 m.

There is no point in installing a filter structure on rocky and semi-rocky rocks, loams and clays, because processed wastewater simply will not be able to migrate further into the ground.

It is also not done if there is a possibility of unloading into open water bodies near swimming areas or points of water intake for technical purposes.

Absorption cesspools are constructed in soils capable of passing treated wastewater. They are allowed to be installed only in cases where between the conditional bottom of the filter well and the highest level of groundwater, the soil thickness is at least one full meter thick

For a small family of three people, there are folk standards for constructing cesspools. They are arranged at the rate of 0.5 m 3 per person, with an average depth of 1.0 - 1.5 m, and a width of 0.8 - 1.0 m.

If a small-sized closet rises above the cesspool for summer residents who do not permanently live in a suburban area, the standard dimensions and estimated volume can be slightly reduced.

To make an absorption pit using brickwork, a small gap is left between the bricks. Gaps can not be made throughout the entire masonry, but only in certain places

Features of installation of cesspools

So, the place has been chosen, it’s time to start building the foundation pit. Usually, special equipment is used for this, since removing large volumes of soil manually is too time-consuming and difficult. The pit configuration can be square, rectangular, round– it all depends on the chosen material.

In agreement with local inspection structures, in rare cases it is permissible to build a cesspool made of wood. It is recommended to pre-treat wood with special materials to increase its service life.

As practice shows, wooden cesspools do not last long and may need repair after a few years.

To make the cracks between the logs waterproof, they caulk and tar, and a waterproofing layer of clay 45 cm thick is applied to the bottom and walls. The cesspool is covered with tightly packed logs on top, and a hatch of approximately 80x70 cm is installed to allow drainage to be pumped out.

And another option for finishing the walls of a cesspool is old tires. They are stacked in a pit to protect the walls of the pit from destruction. Of course, we are not talking about any special tightness in this case.

This is a temporary option that does not provide a large volume for the accumulation of wastewater. But making a tire pit is relatively easy, and it performs its functions quite satisfactorily.

A tire cesspool is a relatively small waste disposal facility. Its main advantages are the availability of materials and ease of execution.

The nuances of operating cesspools

If the cesspool is constructed correctly, there will be no major problems with its operation. The main problem is regularly cleaning the container from accumulated waste. You should not wait until the container is full; you should start removing wastewater earlier.

However, simply pumping out sewage does not automatically make the structure clean. In cesspools, over time, phenomena such as silting of the bottom and contamination of the walls with fatty deposits are observed.

All this leads to a reduction in the volume of the structure, it fills up faster, and sewer trucks have to be called more often.

Over time, silty deposits may accumulate at the bottom of the cesspool, which prevents the natural removal of liquid from the sewer tank

In addition, pollution intensifies the already unappetizing aromas characteristic of sewers. One way to solve the problem is to use special . These microorganisms are simply poured into a container in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions.

The presence of bacteria helps speed up the processing of wastewater and prevents the possibility of contamination of the surrounding soil. In addition, microorganisms can significantly weaken and even completely eliminate unpleasant odors of sewage.

Before using bacteria, you should carefully study the instructions. Such preparations are not always compatible with some types of household chemicals. You need to choose a different composition or change products for cleaning, washing and other needs to more suitable ones.

Sometimes bacteria don’t help either, and the walls and bottom of the container become covered with deposits. In this case, mechanical cleaning of the container will help. After pumping out the wastewater, a worker descends into the pit to clean the dirt from the walls.

Then a layer of sludge is removed from the bottom. The cleaned bottom should be covered with a fresh layer of crushed stone or gravel.

The work of cleaning cesspools is not only labor-intensive, but also dangerous. They should be performed in special protective clothing and a respirator. Safety glasses and, of course, gloves will also help. It is not recommended to perform such work alone.

Sediments can release gases that are hazardous to human health. A worker inside the pit may suddenly lose consciousness due to exposure to such fumes. Even if there are two or three people working below, they should be insured by someone on the surface in case of such trouble.

Cesspool made of concrete rings

The use of ready-made reinforced concrete structures, in this case concrete rings, significantly speeds up construction, which is why they are used quite often. Such elements can be used to create both a sealed and absorbent cesspool.

In the first case, monolithic rings are used, and in the second, special rings with holes are used.

To construct a permeable cesspool, intended for additional purification of wastewater transferred from a septic tank, you can purchase concrete rings with perforation

Of course, intact elements without cracks should be used so that the structure does not fall apart during operation.

To make a cesspool from concrete rings, follow these steps:

Choose a location for the construction.
Make markings.
Dig a pit.
Level the bottom.
Fill the bottom of the hole with concrete screed.
Install concrete rings.
Lay the necessary sewer pipes.
Seal the seams.
Carry out waterproofing and sealing work.
Backfill the pit.
Install a concrete slab with a hole and a cover.
Install ventilation structures.

Of course, for an absorption cesspool there is no need to concrete the bottom. Instead of a screed, a layer of gravel or crushed stone should be placed on the bottom to improve the drainage of the structure. And for a sealed structure, you can find a ready-made concrete ring that already has a bottom. But such options are not common.

The bottom is concreted using a screed about 10 cm thick. To give the layer additional strength, crushed stone is added to the composition. the solution should be as homogeneous as possible to achieve uniform drying.

Until the screed dries, it is impossible to continue work on arranging the cesspool. You'll have to wait at least a week. After drying, flaws may appear on the screed - cracks, unevenness, etc. They must be removed using a special repair solution.

Concrete rings should be installed very carefully. This can be done using a crane or manually. The connections are sealed using rubber gaskets; you can use old car inner tubes. At the joints, the rings are insulated using a solution.

To install concrete rings in a cesspool, it is recommended to use special construction equipment. This work can be done manually, but you will have to involve several people

To dig a trench with a slight slope - about 3 degrees. The recommended depth of such a trench is at least one meter so that the pipes do not freeze in winter. For the same purpose, the pipes are covered with a layer of heat-insulating materials.

A hole in a concrete ring for connecting a sewer pipe can be made using a hammer drill.

After the pipes are laid, the quality of the work is checked by flushing some water down the drain. Once you are sure that there are no leaks, you can begin backfilling the trench. A reinforced concrete slab is usually used as the top floor.

It is best to choose a design that already has a round or square hole for maintenance. This hole is closed with a standard lid.

Good ventilation of the cesspool helps improve waste processing and remove unpleasant odors. For ventilation, you must make a special hole in the upper ceiling and bring the pipe up.

A plastic pipe with a diameter of at least 100 mm is suitable. It must be covered with a special deflector on top to prevent precipitation from penetrating into the wastewater.

A cesspool is an ancient structure, but useful. This is the simplest and relatively cheap way to provide your home with reliable independent sewerage.

You just need to choose the right place, decide on the volume and strictly follow the technology of work.

Do you know the secrets of arranging an autonomous sewer system with a cesspool? Perhaps you recently built a sewage storage tank with your own hands from scrap materials? Tell us about it - your experience may be useful to other owners of country houses.

A cesspool in a country house is a mandatory attribute, since a centralized sewage system is not always available. Each of us wants to feel as comfortable outside the city as in the city and begins to equip our country house, installing a shower, bathtub, toilet, etc.

Cesspool, types and features

Before you start building a cesspool, it is important to think through the design of the collection and accumulation of household wastewater.

A cesspool can be:

absorbent, without bottom;
sealed;
septic tank

Cesspool with “no bottom” design the simplest and cheapest option for arranging a cesspool. Disadvantages: Domestic wastewater that enters the ground can cause damage to the environment. And if the volume of wastewater is large, this sewerage option will not be able to cope.

Sealed container, does not pollute the atmosphere and is comfortable to use. Disadvantages: for such a sewer it is necessary to call as the cesspool is filled.

It is important to understand that the cesspool will clog faster over time and you will need to call the cesspooler more often.

Septic tank- a reliable option for arranging a cesspool, since the septic tank operates on the principle of mechanical cleaning. A single-chamber septic tank is one of the simplest types both to construct and to operate. It is a well with a bottom lined with crushed stone, through which water subsequently seeps into the ground. The use of bacteria helps to further purify the water; the storage tank itself will fill more slowly and less contaminants will get into the soil.

Where can a cesspool be located?

Determining the optimal location is an important part of the construction of a cesspool, which requires taking into account such aspects as:

a mandatory 5-7 m distance between the cesspool and the residential building;
30 m, not less than the distance from the pit to the well or other water intake;
accessibility for a sewer truck.

In addition to choosing the location of the cesspool, you should consider some rules:

the design of the pit should be round, this allows it to withstand loads from the soil much better, reducing the likelihood of depressurization and collapse of the walls of the pit;
The location of the pit on the site must be chosen below the residential building; it will be easier to organize a slope from sewer pipes;
The volume is calculated as follows: for one person half or more of a cubic meter of the volume of the pit. In practice, a cesspool is built from three cubes. Why is that? Because the tank of a sewer truck has a volume of exactly 3 cubic meters. Therefore, it is better to make the volume the same as that of a vacuum cleaner than to order it repeatedly.

What materials should I use to build a cesspool?

A multifaceted question, since there are a lot of materials for arranging a cesspool:

One of the irrational options is the construction of a cesspool without lining. Such a pit will quickly silt up, the walls will fall off, and the useful volume of the pit will decrease;
cesspool using tires - the average service life of this design is about 30 years, cannot be cleaned, and has a small filtration area. Which leads to rapid silting and the filtration process stops;
use of wooden formwork - the service life of this structure largely depends on the type of wood used; the use of valuable wood is not advisable. The service life of such a cesspool is 5-7 years;
a pit made of brickwork - the brick gradually turns into clay in the process of contact with water;
pit made of metal formwork - service life from 5 to 20 years, depends on the properties, as well as on the surface treatment of the material. Expensive metal increases the service life;
a pit made of polymer formwork - or just a septic tank. It is an achievement of innovative technologies and is very popular.

The most common option for arranging a cesspool, of course, is. It is the best option for a cesspool, even in terms of price/quality ratio.

A cesspool made of reinforced concrete rings has many advantages, for example, over brickwork:

easy installation, less time-consuming;
sealing is less labor-intensive due to the small number of joints;
concrete is the most durable, concrete is resistant to the aggressive effects of the contents of the cesspool;
the likelihood of siltation of protrusions and crevices is reduced, since the rings have smooth and round walls.

The top of the cesspool must be covered with a concrete slab. For convenient access to the inside of the pit during pumping, a hatch is installed on the slab. It may also be needed in the event of any emergency.

One thing - a large amount of heat and various gases will be released from the pit. Therefore, you need to think through a small hole in the floor slab and organize ventilation - a piece of sewer pipe protruding half a meter from the ground surface.

Construction of a cesspool– a serious and responsible process, adhering to proven technology, if you have the desire, you can do everything yourself.

All the conveniences of human habitation are associated with three components: electricity, water and sewerage. Owners of “summer residences” - dachas, small country houses - are trying to equip their seasonal home with maximum comfort. Providing it with electricity is the simplest task; almost every corner of Russia is electrified. Water supply is solved by installing boreholes or wells. The most difficult issue - the installation of a local sewerage system - also has a standard solution: a drainage pit is built on the site with your own hands.

A drainage pit in a private house or country house is an elementary structure designed to collect and accumulate local sewage waste. Household waste from toilets, kitchen sinks, washing machines and dishwashers is transported here through sewer pipes.

No treatment facilities are provided in front of this simple sewage collection facility. As the pit fills, it is cleaned by pumping out the contents. Depending on the cleaning method, the accumulated sewage is removed by special machines - sewage trucks, or after treatment with biological products, it is used for watering plants and as fertilizer.

Types of drainage pits

Drain pits are classified according to ground level and materials of manufacture.

Relative to ground level

Based on this criterion, sewage waste collections are divided into two groups:

superficial;
underground.

Surface sewerage collectors

This option is only suitable for use in the warm season. It is used extremely rarely, since in this case the sewer network has to be laid on top. The required slope (from the “supplier” of wastewater – sink, toilet, etc. – to the collection tank) can only be ensured if all sources of wastewater are located above the inlet of the tank. It is advisable to install surface drainage tanks in areas with high groundwater levels.

Underground drainage pits

Underground sewage collection structures are the most common. Depending on the amount of drainage, the design of the drainage pit may or may not have a sealed bottom. Sanitary standards of Russia It is allowed to construct pits without sealing the bottom if the daily volume of wastewater does not exceed 1 m3.

In all other cases, a sealed underground tank is installed.

According to manufacturing materials

The following materials can be used to construct the drainage pit structure:

ceramic brick;
concrete (in the manufacture of a monolithic structure);
waste tractor tires;
plastic;
tree.

For constructing drainage pits with your own hands, concrete rings are the most unsuitable option. Their installation requires construction equipment - heavy products cannot be handled manually.

The easiest and cheapest way to arrange a drainage pit in a private house or on a summer cottage is to decorate its walls with the help of tires. But this design is unreliable in terms of tightness: there is a high risk of the liquid component of sewage drains getting into the soil.

Location – sanitary restrictions

Some homeowners believe that they can do whatever they want on their property, and they are deeply mistaken. Sanitary services do not sleep - they require strict compliance with the rules and regulations in force in the state, regardless of the type of property.

The location of the drainage pit in a private house is also strictly regulated: the standards stipulate the minimum permissible distances from the wastewater storage tank to engineering structures, residential buildings and site boundaries:

to the water conduit (central) - 10 meters;
to the underground gas pipeline – 5 meters;
to the drinking well: 20 meters - on clay soils, 30 m - on loams, 50 m - on sandstones and sandy loams;
to a residential building (own and neighboring) - 10-12 meters;
to the fence (site boundary) – 1 meter.

The maximum depth of the drainage pit is also regulated: it should not exceed 3 m, if the groundwater level allows it. These restrictions are contained in SanPiN 42-128-4690-88 and SNiP 30-02-97.

Important: Homeowners should be aware that failure to comply with sanitary requirements may not only result in a fine; if harm is caused to the health of others, a criminal case may be filed.

In addition, when making a drainage hole at the dacha with your own hands, it must be located on the site in such a way that it is possible to organize unhindered access to it for special equipment at the time of pumping out.

Advice: Practice shows that it is better to place the drainage pit at a distance of at least 15 meters from the windows of residential premises.

Construction order

Installing a drainage pit in a private house with your own hands, regardless of the choice of material, is carried out according to the general algorithm:

Explosive gas is formed in sewer storage tanks. For his withdrawal ventilation is arranged. Its role is played by a pipe leading through the pit lid. Its dimensions are regulated by building codes: diameter - 100 mm, height - at least 600 mm from ground level.

Choosing a method for cleaning the drain pit

Before you build a drainage pit in a private house, you should decide a very important question: how will you clean it. The amount of work to improve the site depends on this:

if it’s easier for you to periodically invite specialists with a sewer truck, take care of organizing an access road;
If you are ready to do the cleaning yourself, purchase a plastic container with a sealed lid and find out in advance who will accept your waste. Don't forget about hand and respiratory protection. It would be better if it was a gas mask, but, at worst, a respirator would do. Of course, you can't do without rubber boots.

When arranging a drainage hole, you need to worry not only about how to dig it, but also about how to clean it

Modern technologies can significantly simplify the process of cleaning the drainage pit if it fills quickly, or even make it virtually waste-free. We are talking about microscopic helpers - capable of turning wastewater into sufficiently clean water and a solid fraction suitable for use as fertilizer.

Bacteria not only decompose the contents of the drainage pit, but also diligently fight the unpleasant odor.

Just keep in mind when deciding how to clean a drainage pit in a private house that you should choose biological products in accordance with the composition of the wastewater. Most bacteria cannot withstand contact with household chemicals: detergents and washing powders have a detrimental effect on them. However, microorganisms that are resistant to aggressive environments are now being grown.

After the bacteria have done their work, all you have to do is use a pump to pump out the liquid component (it is completely harmless to humans, animals and plants) and remove the solid sediment from the pit.