A fluid conduit with layered and partial covering material thereon is disclosed. The fluid conduit may be used for processing and treatment of fluids which must be treated to remove materials so that the resultant treated fluid may be reused and/or returned to the earth and particularly to the water table. The fluid conduit may be of many forms and types and may have attached thereto and configured thereon covering material in partial form and a selected number of layers. The fluid conduit may be a septic pipe of smooth wall, of corrugated form, and/or of any form of cross-sectional configuration including circular, elliptical, rectangular, triangular, or any other geometric shape. The fluid conduit may be used in combination with conduit in a drainage field or leaching system usually associated with a septic tank or septic system.

The present invention recognizes that there exists a long felt need for improved soil infusion wastewater disposal systems for residential and non-residential applications, for sewage and other types of wastewater disposal. A first aspect of the present invention generally relates to devices for above ground soil infusion wastewater disposal, preferably with microorganisms that can assist in the degradation of undesirable materials in such wastewater. A second aspect of the present invention generally relates to methods of making such above ground soil infusion wastewater disposal devices. A third aspect of the present invention generally relates to method of using such above ground soil infusion wastewater disposal devices.

Water treatment systems for year round consistent achievement of less than 2.5 mg/L of total nitrogen from a gray water starting effluent having about 65 mg/L of total nitrogen. The system may include a septic tank, an anaerobic upflow filter (AUF) that receives wastewater from the septic tank, a recirculating media filter (RMF) that receives wastewater from the AUF, and an anoxic denitrification filter that receives wastewater from the RMF. A drain field may be positioned downstream from the denitrification filter for ultimate disposal of the wastewater. The AUF may reduce the biological oxygen demand (BOD), although its presence also aids the combination of the RMF and denitrification filter that follow to consistently achieve <2.5 mg/L of total nitrogen in the system effluent. An equalization tank, recirculation tank, one or more recycle loops, and various pump stations may also be included. The system may be configured as a two-stage system.

A septic tank filter system includes a tank. The tank includes an inlet and an outlet, wherein the outlet is disposed on the tank below the inlet to enable a flow of wastewater to be gravity fed from the inlet to the outlet. A filter is positioned in the tank. The filter includes a frame. A filter media is disposed on the frame. The filter media is operable to filter the wastewater of waste material as the wastewater passes therethrough. An overflow opening is disposed on a top portion of the filter. A bottom of the overflow opening is located above the tank outlet and below the tank inlet. When the filter media is not clogged, a level of the wastewater remains below the overflow opening. When the filter media is clogged, the level of the wastewater rises until the wastewater flows over the overflow opening.

A fluid conduit with layered and partial covering material thereon is disclosed. The fluid conduit may be used for processing and treatment of fluids which must be treated to remove materials so that the resultant treated fluid may be reused and/or returned to the earth and particularly to the water table. The fluid conduit may be of many forms and types and may have attached thereto and configured thereon covering material in partial form and a selected number of layers. The fluid conduit may be a septic pipe of smooth wall, of corrugated form, and/or of any form of cross-sectional configuration including circular, elliptical, rectangular, triangular, or any other geometric shape. The fluid conduit may be used in combination with conduit in a drainage field or leaching system usually associated with a septic tank or septic system.

A water treatment system filters out solid material containing carbon, and provides that solid material to a fermenter. Volatile fatty acids are produced within the fermenter. After fermentation, a second filtering operation is utilized to permit passage of water and volatile fatty acids while filtering out solids from the fermenter. The volatile fatty acids are used as a food source for bacteria during secondary treatment of the water.

An enhanced multiple compartmented (segmented or chambered) supplemental tank system that (i) adds another media to enhance wood chip denitrification, and (ii) includes a component for recycling treated wastewater back to the front end of the system with mainly nitrate-N recycled back and combined with organic carbon (present in wastewater) under anoxic to form nitrogen gas and CO.sub.2. The latter uses an aeration pump and tubing to reduce soluble organics and assist with the conversion of ammonia-N to nitrite-N and nitrate-N.

A vertical sidewall effluent dispersal system and method for narrow trench installations. A plurality of soil absorption modules are connected in series. Each system of multiple modules receives a balanced distribution of effluent. The modules comprise a conduit segment and an elongated grid body, both contained within a geotextile envelope. An orifice in the conduit segment emits effluent onto the underlying grid body. The grid body has a first flanking side and an opposite second flanking side. The first flanking side comprises a rectilinear pattern of horizontal steps and vertical dividers. The second flanking side comprises a diamond pattern of diagonally crisscrossing spreader fins. The first and second flanking side overlap at an interior switch-back zone that directs effluent laterally back-and-forth in a downward and longitudinally spreading cascade. Each soil absorption module is isolated from the next adjacent soil absorption module by an earthen barrier of trench backfill.

A wastewater treatment apparatus includes a plurality of water troughs for treating the wastewater including a first trough configured for flowing wastewater to a second trough. The first water trough includes a biogrowth media, and a wall having a plurality of passages positioned along a width of the wall and positioned along a height of the wall, the plurality of passages permitting water to exit the first water trough via the plurality of passages in the wall. The apparatus also includes a discharge channel of the plurality of water troughs, the discharge channel having a wastewater inlet for receiving wastewater that has flowed from the first water trough and the second water trough, the wastewater inlet being configured to be stationary.