The conventional land application

1
The conventional land application system
consists of a soil treatment area with perforated
pipes surrounded by distribution media such as
gravel. Effluent passes into the media and is
stored there until it can be absorbed into the
soil. The microbes, decomposing the waste, form
a biological mat (biomat) in the trench at the
interface of the soil and the media. The biomat
tends to slow down water movement into the soil
creating unsaturated flow, thereby avoiding soil
saturation. Microbes in the soil and biomat feed
on the waste, nutrients, and pathogens remaining
in the wastewater. Water leaves the system by
evaporation, transpirtation, and absorption.