RO Discharge Water - Disposal?

[bobbyjake]

Brand new Sugar House with well, septic system and leach field. Don't want to run RO wash water into septic because it is soapy and acidic. Don't want to run it out on the ground as wetland, small stream and nice pond are in close proximity. Looking to see what others do with this water??? Thanks.

[Farmboy]

I'm not sure how many gallons there is but you could build a small leachfield for just that out of afew 55 gallon drums with holes drilled in them.

[danno]

Or just run the 15 or 20 gallons from the wash cycle and the first 10 gallons of permeate rinse into the septic and run the rest of the permeate rinse onto the ground.

[bobbyjake]

Regulators in New Hampshire would not allow the use of the drywell (55 gallon barrells) but do feel that the permeate (including the soap and the acid) is probably acceptable for the leach. Under normal circumstances, the leach would only need to be a 300 gpd system, but the RO is a 300 gph so it would produce approximately 300 gallons of wash water. 300 gallons of wash water per day, 3 toilet flushes... it seems like a biased system.

Could oversize the system? Or run run two septic tanks, both feeding into the same leach (or oversized leach).

Regulators bigger concern was with wash water. Their concern was that the wash water could, due to the sugars, have a higher BOD loading and cause problems in septic, or wetlands, streams and ponds if discharged overland.

Keep the thoughts coming please.

[802maple]

As far as the non wash water, I would run that right out on the ground as there is nothing more pure than the permeate that you will be making. You won't be going thru near as much wash water as you think. Depending on your wash tank you shouldn't be going thru much more than 40 gallons. You will have some rinse water that has soap in the initial rinse, but after a few minutes it will hardly be traceable. I don't know any sugarmaker that doesn't run everything out on the ground, but lets hear from the ones that don't.

[Haynes Forest Products]

And yet no one has a problem washing a semi truck with a power washer with the soap dispenser foaming all over. Running it on the ground is no differant than into a leach field. its just seen.