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WASTEWATER SERVICE |
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The GM CSD provides our domestic water customers with a modern hybrid wastewater system specifically designed for use by rural communities with large elevation changes. Each home site and commercial entity has a Septic Tank Effluent Pumping (STEP) tank located on site. Builders install these tanks new as part of the building process. The cost of the tank and installation are a normal part of the building package for homes constructed in this community.
The STEP System includes a septic tank and a pump. Sewage is conveyed by gravity to the tank through your building plumbing line. Liquid waste is filtered and pumped under pressure to the public sewer system.
Solid waste will remain in the STEP tank where it naturally degrades and is eventually pumped out (approximately every 5 to 10 years by the CSD). STEP system pumps typically turn on every one or two days with normal water use and pump the liquid waste to the public system.
The difference between this and a traditional septic system is a standard septic system relies on gravity flow to a local drain or leach field. With the GM CSD system, effluent is pumped via the district sewer system to one of two community leach fields for secondary treatment and eventual release back into the ground. The system has proven to be very reliable and requires little maintenance. While each home owner (or commercial entity) owns and is responsible for their STEP tank and associated plumbing, the CSD is responsible for performing maintenance and repairs to the pumping system. In a traditional septic installation the owner is responsible for maintaining all components including leach field repairs and an occasional pumping of their septic tank. In the case of GM CSD’s modern system many of these functions are the responsibility of the CSD.
Each installation is equipped with a control box and alarm typically located at a convenient location on the structure. The alarm will sound if the system senses any type of system failure. It is the owner’s responsibility to notify the CSD promptly if they should hear a system alarm. There should be an emergency contact number on a sticker on your control box, if there isn’t please call the district office.
The GM CSD maintains two large community leach fields. Currently neither field is operating near capacity however this in itself creates field management challenges. The constant flow of effluent through the drain fields is what keeps the drain fields operating at peak capacity. If not properly managed, low flows will allow the field to clog and lose efficiency. The CSD currently manages these issues manually through continual monitoring and control. We are currently in the process of installing an automated dosing station that controls effluent flow and provides pressurized flows to deliver effluent evenly over the entire leach field to improve and preserve field operations.
The STEP System includes a septic tank and a pump. Sewage is conveyed by gravity to the tank through your building plumbing line. Liquid waste is filtered and pumped under pressure to the public sewer system.
Solid waste will remain in the STEP tank where it naturally degrades and is eventually pumped out (approximately every 5 to 10 years by the CSD). STEP system pumps typically turn on every one or two days with normal water use and pump the liquid waste to the public system.
The difference between this and a traditional septic system is a standard septic system relies on gravity flow to a local drain or leach field. With the GM CSD system, effluent is pumped via the district sewer system to one of two community leach fields for secondary treatment and eventual release back into the ground. The system has proven to be very reliable and requires little maintenance. While each home owner (or commercial entity) owns and is responsible for their STEP tank and associated plumbing, the CSD is responsible for performing maintenance and repairs to the pumping system. In a traditional septic installation the owner is responsible for maintaining all components including leach field repairs and an occasional pumping of their septic tank. In the case of GM CSD’s modern system many of these functions are the responsibility of the CSD.
Each installation is equipped with a control box and alarm typically located at a convenient location on the structure. The alarm will sound if the system senses any type of system failure. It is the owner’s responsibility to notify the CSD promptly if they should hear a system alarm. There should be an emergency contact number on a sticker on your control box, if there isn’t please call the district office.
The GM CSD maintains two large community leach fields. Currently neither field is operating near capacity however this in itself creates field management challenges. The constant flow of effluent through the drain fields is what keeps the drain fields operating at peak capacity. If not properly managed, low flows will allow the field to clog and lose efficiency. The CSD currently manages these issues manually through continual monitoring and control. We are currently in the process of installing an automated dosing station that controls effluent flow and provides pressurized flows to deliver effluent evenly over the entire leach field to improve and preserve field operations.