OFF the GRID: How decentralized wastewater systems are best for small communities

摘要

Since the U.S. Construction Grants program ended, small communities have had to wrestle with conventional engineering approaches to wastewater management that were either too expensive or just not feasible. Wastewater could be treated with either a central system consisting of gravity sewers, manholes, lift stations, and a single treatment facility or septic systems managed by property owners. But as far back as 1978, the U.S. General Accounting Office reported to Congress that the centralized management of decentralized wastewater systems might be the most feasible solution for small communities. While the advice went unheeded, the intervening years have provided several successful examples of the wisdom of this approach.