How can poo flow uphill?

[simon43]

A strange topic title, but let me explain.

Last year, I built a small Bed & Breakfast guesthouse near to the international airport in Phuket. This was the 4th such hotel project for me since 2004. This B&B was built in a very peaceful rubber tree plantation. The sewerage system is the same that I've used for all my projects ==> black plastic septic tanks and dry wells for soakaways. Because the land is sloping, construction of the sewerage system and pipework was very easy and everything works fine. The OrBorTor come once a year to empty the septic tanks, which are installed about 30 metres from the access road, (the sewerage truck pipes are long enough to reach over that distance).

Now, since business is going very well, I want to build some more guestrooms on adjacent land. But here is the problem. That land also slopes, (since it lies below my current land). So I can again easily construct my sewerage pipework and septic tanks.

But! - the septic tanks will then be too far away from the access road for the sewerage truck to access them - the truck pipes are not long enough and there is no possibility of building an access road closer to this new land.

What can I do? Ideally, I need the sewerage to flow 'uphill', so that I can install the new septic tanks next to the existing ones.

The dry well soakaway is not a problem, but disposal of the solid sewerage is.

Is there a practical alternative to using plastic septic tanks that have to be emptied? (Cess pits??).

The problem is compounded because my well for supply of water for bathrooms lies at the bottom of the sloping land - I certainly do not want to contaminate it with sewerage from my new guest rooms.

Edited September 7, 2015 by simon43

[yermanee]

Build the new guestrooms on stilts like many thai houses ?

Yermanee

[simon43]

Build the new guestrooms on stilts like many thai houses ?

Well, that is not a bad idea. I would need to see how high the stilts would need to be for the guest rooms at the bottom of the slope. Possibly, they would be at some crazy height!

[cooked]

You can pump it. We occasionally use a small submersible pump to empty our tanks when they are full of rain water (neighbour doesn't mind / know).If you are worried about stuff like tamons and other gunk, you can build a wall through the middle of the tank so that only pumpable stuff overflows to the other side.

[alfieconn]

Why don't you install a system that doesn't have to be emptied ? iv'e had 2 house in Thailand one for 6 years and one for 5 years and never had to empty the tanks in either, perhaps i'm just lucky and to be fair i don't know much about the systems.

[fredge45]

If you build a true septic system then you would only have to pump out the sludge every 5 - 10 years if it is sized correctly.

[peterjackson]

The problem you face with a hotel septic system, is that the guests will dispose of all kinds of non septic safe solid waste.

As suggested previously a split partition tank with maybe a mesh screen to separate the liquid waste from solid waste. You can pump both sets of waste via a submersible pump as and when necessary.

Just buy a pump with a suitably sized 'flow' hose.

Going the whole nine yards, you could install a septic lift station, although the cost may be excessive.

Where there's muck, there's money.

[bankruatsteve]

I don't know what kind of vacuum pumps the trucks use. (?) Maybe you could put in some permanent piping from the far pits to ones the truck can reach along with pump to move it?

[blackcab]

^ What Steve said.

Have a chat with the honey truck man and see what sort of distance/slope he thinks the truck can handle. You could buy the pipe and give it a trial run with a couple of battels of water at the far end. If the pump isn't man enough you could consider a tank halfway between the new properties and the existing tank. Connect it by a pipe and a pump to the existing system. You pump half way into the holding tank, the honey truck pumps the last half from the holding tank out of the system.

[sometimewoodworker]

If you build a true septic system then you would only have to pump out the sludge every 5 - 10 years if it is sized correctly.

In fact a true, correctly sized septic system may never have to be pumped out. And even a typical Thai ring tank system may never need pumping, ours is going on 10 years and has never been, or needed to be pumped.

[cooked]

If you build a true septic system then you would only have to pump out the sludge every 5 - 10 years if it is sized correctly.

In fact a true, correctly sized septic system may never have to be pumped out. And even a typical Thai ring tank system may never need pumping, ours is going on 10 years and has never been, or needed to be pumped.

True. However if you are living in Isaan where you occasionally find your house surrounded by water, the septic tank will overflow.

[fredge45]

If you build a true septic system then you would only have to pump out the sludge every 5 - 10 years if it is sized correctly.

In fact a true, correctly sized septic system may never have to be pumped out. And even a typical Thai ring tank system may never need pumping, ours is going on 10 years and has never been, or needed to be pumped.

True. However if you are living in Isaan where you occasionally find your house surrounded by water, the septic tank will overflow.

Don't build on the flat land... leave that good land for the farmers to raise food!

[cooked]

If you build a true septic system then you would only have to pump out the sludge every 5 - 10 years if it is sized correctly.

In fact a true, correctly sized septic system may never have to be pumped out. And even a typical Thai ring tank system may never need pumping, ours is going on 10 years and has never been, or needed to be pumped.

True. However if you are living in Isaan where you occasionally find your house surrounded by water, the septic tank will overflow.

Don't build on the flat land... leave that good land for the farmers to raise food!

Great comment

[sometimewoodworker]

If you build a true septic system then you would only have to pump out the sludge every 5 - 10 years if it is sized correctly.

In fact a true, correctly sized septic system may never have to be pumped out. And even a typical Thai ring tank system may never need pumping, ours is going on 10 years and has never been, or needed to be pumped.

True. However if you are living in Isaan where you occasionally find your house surrounded by water, the septic tank will overflow.

Maybe I'm lucky as.

I do,

it is,

it doesn't

Edited September 15, 2015 by sometimewoodworker

[ourdon]

Lift Station.

If you want to get fancy, set up a solar powered pump and flow switch.