Definitions

Table of Contents

1.

Scope

 6. Packaged Sewage Treatment Plants    Appendix A 
2.

Definitions

 7. Effluent Treatment and Disposal   Appendix B 
3.

General

 8. Treatment Mounds   List of Figures
4.

Piping

 9. Sand Filters     
5. Septic, Holding, and Effluent Tanks  10. Open Discharge System    
    11. Sewage or Effluent Lagoons     


Standard of Practice Explanation

2 Definitions and Abbreviations

  

2.1. Definitions

  
2.1.1. Definitions not listed.
Definitions or words and phrases used in this Standard of Practice and not included in the list of definitions, shall have the meanings that are commonly assigned to them in the context in which they are used in this Standard of Practice, taking into account the specialized use of terms by the trades and professions to which the terminology applies.		 Self explanatory.
2.1.2. Italicized words and terms in this Standard of Practice shall have the following meanings:  
Administrator means an Administrator appointed pursuant to Section 14 of the Safety Codes Act.  
Aquifer means any porous water-bearing geologic formation capable of yielding a supply of water.  
Berm means the raised area as in a treatment mound, a sand filter or around a lagoon.  
Biochemical Oxygen Demand or BOD5 means the concentration of oxygen (expressed as mg/l) utilized by micro organisms in the oxidation of organic matter during a 5-day period at a temperature of 20 C (68 F). This is a key measurement used to determine the strength of the sewage. It provides an indication of the organic content in the sewage. It does not measure pathogens in the sewage.
Building means any structure used or intended for supporting or sheltering any use or occupancy.  
Building Drain means the horizontal piping including any vertical offset that conducts sewage, clear-water waste or storm water in a building to a building sewer. See Pg. 97, Building Drain in Appendix "B"
Building Sewer means a pipe connected to a building drain starting 1 m (3.25 ft.) outside a wall of a building and that leads to a public sewer or private sewage system. See Pg. 98, Building Sewer in Appendix "B"
Certified means tested by a nationally recognized testing agency and Certified as conforming to a National Standard of Canada or other Standard recognized by the Administrator.  
Diameter, unless otherwise indicated, means the nominal diameter by which a pipe, fitting, trap or other item is commercially designated.  
Disposal Field means a system of effluent treatment and disposal by distributing effluent within trenches containing void spaces that are covered with soil and includes the following types
  1. a conventional disposal field means a system of effluent treatment and disposal utilizing perforated piping laid in a bed of gravel in trenches for distributing effluent within the trenches,
  2. a chamber system disposal field means a system of effluent treatment and disposal using preformed structures to provide a void space for storage and movement of effluent, and an interface with the exposed infiltrative surface of the soil, and
  3. a gravel substitute disposal field means a conventional disposal field, in which the gravel is replaced with an alternate media having characteristics that will provide void space and performance similar to gravel.

Fig Typ DF 1

See Pg. 176, Fig. Typical DF 1 in Appendix "B" for full size view.

Distribution Header means a non-perforated pipe connected to an effluent line or an effluent sewer which distributes effluent to distribution laterals, weeping lateral pipes or weeping lateral trenches.  
Distribution Lateral Pipe means a perforated pressurized pipe used to distribute effluent throughout the entire length of a weeping lateral trench or over a surface area in a sand filter or treatment mound.

See Pg. 44, 7A.1.9 Pressure distribution laterals
See Pg. 192, Fig. PDL 1 distribution laterals

Extra drawing of distribution laterals

Click here or on the image for a full size graphic

Drain Media (as used in a sand filter) means clean washed gravel, clean crushed rock, or other media for distributing effluent.  
Dwelling or Dwelling Unit means a suite operated as a housekeeping unit used, or intended to be used, as a domicile by one or more persons and usually contains cooking, eating, living, sleeping and sanitary facilities.  
DWV Pipe means the pipe use for drain, waste, and vent purposes.  
Effluent means the discharge from any on-site sewage treatment component.  
Effluent Line means piping for the flow of effluent by mechanical forces.  
Effluent Sewer means piping for the flow of effluent through the action of gravity.  
Field Header means a main weeping lateral pipe that also distributes effluent to other weeping lateral pipes in a level disposal field.  
Filter Fabric means a synthetic woven or spun-bonded sheet material used to impede or prevent the movement of sand, silt and clay into the spaces between larger media but does not impede the movement of air or water.  
Fines means silt or smaller soil particles which would pass through a 200 sieve, or are less than 80 microns in particle size.  
Grade means the gradient, slope, or rate of ascent or descent.  
Grain or Particle Size Analysis means establishing the percentage of sand, silt or clay particles in a soil sample by means of a standard hydrometer method. This is an analysis conducted in a lab according to specific procedures. Particle sizes:
  • Sand = 2.0 mm - 0.05mm
  • Silt = 0.05 mm - 0.002mm
  • Clay = less than 0.002mm
Holding Tank means a tank designed to retain sewage or effluent until transferred into mobile equipment for disposal elsewhere.  
Lagoon means a shallow artificial pond for the stabilization of sewage or effluent.  
Mottling means a soil zone of chemical oxidation and reduction activity, appearing as splotchy patches of red, brown, orange or grey in the soil, that may indicate the presence of a water table. This soil characteristic can be used in determining water table levels.

See Pg. 123, Seasonally Saturated Soils

Nominally Level means level, so as to not affect the performance of the system.  
On-site means on the property.  
Open Discharge System means a system designed to discharge effluent to the ground surface to accomplish evaporation and absorption of the effluent into the soil as a method of disposal. See Pg. 160, Open Discharge in appendix "B"
Packaged Sewage Treatment Plant means a unit, which complies with the National Sanitation Foundation International Standard for Wastewater Technology, NSF-40 Standard, Residential Wastewater Treatment Systems, Class 1 or other Standard recognized by an Administrator.

See Pg. 112, Packaged Sewage Treatment Plants in Appendix "B".

Note: As these units are certified to a U.S. standard, the rated capacities of the units are therefore in U.S. gallons and must be converted to Imperial Gallons or Litres for proper sizing using the standard of practice.

Percolation Test means a test performed to determine a rate at which soil will absorb water. See Pg. 94, A.6. Percolation test Procedure in Appendix "A" for the proper method of conducting a percolation test.
Potable means safe for human consumption.  
Pressure Head means the pressure existing in a fluid expressed as the height of a column of water that would exert an equal pressure.  
Private Sewage System means a system for the on-site treatment and/or disposal of sewage and includes all components downstream of a point starting at 1800 mm (6 ft.) or less, upstream of any septic tank, packaged sewage treatment plant, sewage holding tank or the berm of a sewage lagoon but does not include a building drain. Note: It is not the intent of this definition to apply to piping upstream of a septic tank, holding tank or packaged sewage treatment plant that would include piping inside a building when the septic tank, holding tank or packaged sewage treatment plant is installed within 2m (6.5 ft.) of a building.
Property means the land described in the Certificate of Title issued under the Land Titles Act.  
Residential Strength Sewage means sewage which has a BOD5 of less than 300 mg/l, T.S.S. of less than 350 mg/l, and oil and grease content of less than 25 mg/l.  
Residential Strength Effluent means effluent which has a BOD5 of less than 230 mg/l, T.S.S. of less than 150 mg/l, and oil and grease content of less than 25 mg/l.  
Sand (when referring to a treatment or disposal component) means a soil texture composed of soil particulate defined for use in the component. Sand layers in treatment mounds and sand filters require sand of a certain size particulate and cleanliness. The specification for the required sand in a component is provided in the applicable section.
Sand Filter means a component of a private sewage system designed to treat effluent from a septic tank or packaged sewage treatment plant, by filtering the effluent through a sand media on an intermittent basis.  
Sand Filter Media means the granular filter media used in the construction of a sand filter.  
Sand Filter Surface Area means the area of the level plane section of the sand filter media in contact with the drain media containing the pressurized distribution piping.  
Sand Layer (when referring to a treatment mound) means the required 300 mm (1 ft.) layer of sand that will receive the effluent from a gravel bed or chambers above the sand layer.  
Saturation Percentage means the moisture percentage of a saturated soil paste, expressed on a dry weight basis.  
Septic Tank means a digestion chamber
  1. in which sewage is received and retained, and
  2. from which the effluent is discharged.
  
Serial Distribution means a disposal field design where discharged effluent is forced to travel through one weeping lateral trench to get to another weeping lateral trench.  
Sewage means
  1. human excreta, or
  2. the water-carried wastes from drinking, bathing, laundering, or food processing.
  
Sewage Effluent Tank means any tank installed upstream of a packaged sewage treatment plant (commonly referred to as a trash tank) designed to retain or treat sewage prior to treatment in the packaged treatment plant or any tank used downstream of a septic tank or packaged sewage plant which receives effluent (commonly referred to as an effluent chamber).  
Shore means the edge of a body of water and includes the land adjacent to a body of water that has been covered so long by water as to wrest it from vegetation or as to mark a distinct character on the vegetation where it extends into the water or on the soil itself. This is the point to which clearances to bodies of water is measured.
Size unless otherwise indicated means the nominal size by which a pipe, fitting, trap or other item is commercially designated.  
Sodium Adsorption Ratio or S.A.R. means a ratio for soil extracts and waters used to express the relative activity of Sodium ions in exchange reactions with the soil

See Pg. 20, Article 3.1.4
See Pg. 123, Sodium Affecting Soils in Appendix "B"

Soil Texture Classification means a classification of soil set out in Table 7A.1.5. having a soil composition determined by Grain or Particle Size Analysis.

To use soil texture classification to size a system , the texture must be determined by a grain or particle size analysis done by a certified laboratory.

See Pg. 117, Soil texture

Storm Water means water discharged from a surface as a result of rainfall or snowfall.  
Subsoil Drainage Pipe means a piping system that is installed underground to intercept and convey subsurface water.Commonly known as weeping tile around the foundation of a house.  
Technical Administrator means an Administrator appointed pursuant to Section 14 of the Safety Codes Act.  
Total Suspended Solids or T.S.S. means the quantity of solids (expressed as mg/l) which can be readily removed from a well mixed sample with standard laboratory filtering procedures. This is one of the key measures used in determining wastewater strength. It does not provide a measure of pathogens.
Treatment Mound means a system where the effluent treatment area includes a bed of sand and is built above grade to overcome limits imposed by proximity to water table or bed rock, or by highly permeable or impermeable soils.

See Pg. 197, Fig. Typical M 1 in Appendix "B"

Underdrain Media (as used in a sand filter) means that material placed under the sand filter media in a sand filter and is of a size to support the sand.  
Underdrain Piping means piping placed under a sand filter in the underdrain or drain media to collect the effluent that has traveled through the sand filter.  
Vertical Separation means the depth of unsaturated soil between the bottom of an effluent disposal component and a limiting layer such as a water table or impervious layer of rock or soil. See Pg. 38, Article 7.1.6
Water Course means
  1. a river, stream, lake, creek, swamp, marsh or other natural body of water marked by the shore, or
  2. a canal, reservoir or other manmade surface feature intended to contain water for a specified use, whether it contains or conveys water continuously or intermittently.
 See the following Articles:
Pg. 22, Article 3.1.12 Pg. 68, Article 11.2.2(1)
Pg. 32, Article 5.2.1 Pg. 35, Article 6.2.1
Pg. 45, Article 7A.2.1 Pg. 53, Article 8.2.1(1)
Pg. 59, Article 9.2.1 Pg. 59, Article 9.2.2
Pg. 65, Article 10.2.1 Pg. 68, Article 11.2.1(1)
Water Source means a manmade or natural source of potable water.

Note: A cistern is also considered to be a water source when buried in the earth. A free standing tank would not have to meet minimum distance requirements from disposal components.		 See the following Articles:
Pg. 22, Article 3.1.12 Pg. 68, Article 11.2.2(1)
Pg. 32, Article 5.2.1 Pg. 35, Article 6.2.1
Pg. 45, Article 7A.2.1 Pg. 53, Article 8.2.1(1)
Pg. 59. Article 9.2.1 Pg. 59. Article 9.2.2
Pg. 65, Article 10.2.1 Pg. 68, Article 11.2.1(1)
Water Table means the highest elevation in the soil where all voids are filled with water, as evidenced by the presence of water, soil mottling, or other indicators. The water table level will fluctuate with seasons and wet and dry years. Evidence such as soil mottling provided evidence of saturated soils. The installer must investigate to determine the high level of the seasonally saturated soil.

See Pg. 123, Seasonally saturated soils

Weeping Lateral Pipe means the perforated pipe used to distribute effluent by gravity within a disposal field trench. Note: This definition refers to Non - pressure piping. See Distribution Lateral for pressure applications.
Weeping Lateral Trench means a trench in a disposal field that receives effluent and provides an infiltrative soil surface.  
Working Capacity means that part of the septic tank in which the liquid volume of sewage that will remain in the septic chamber when the tank is properly installed and is in normal use, but does not include the air space, siphon chamber, pumping chamber or effluent chamber.

A drawing of Working Capacity

Click here or on the image for a full size graphic

Note: The common "Model 750" septic tank may have a working capacity of approximately 420 gallons depending on the manufacturer. Manufacturer's model number designation of their septic tanks do not indicate the "Working Capacity" of their products. Caution must be exercised when selecting a septic tank. Sizing requirements found in the Standard of Practice refer to the Working Capacity.

2.2. Abbreviations

  

2.2.1.

Abbreviations in this Standard have the following meaning

ABS acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene mm millimetre(s)
BOD5 Biochemical Oxygen Demand µm micrometre(s)
cm2 square centimetre(s) m² square metre(s)
° degree(s) min. minute(s)
°C degree(s) Celsius mg/L milligrams per litre
CSA Canadian Standards Association mm millimetre(s)
dia. diameter No. number(s)
DWV drain, waste and vent NSF National Sanitation Foundation
ft. foot (feet) NPS nominal pipe size
gpm gallons per minute PE polyethylene
gal. gallons PVC poly (vinyl chloride)
Imp. Imperial (gallons) psi pounds per sq. inch (pressure)
in. inch(es) sq. square
kPa kilopascal(s) temp. temperature
L litre(s) TSS Total Suspended Solids
L/m Litres per minute US United States (liquid gallon)
m metre(s)