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A guide for homeownersLooking after your treatment plant
Your home sewage treatment plant is a small treatment works that relies on beneficial bacteria. Keeping those bacteria healthy keeps the whole system performing.
A printable summary of this guide, ready to keep near your control box.
How your system works
- Primary tankSolids settle and begin to break down.
- AerationThe air blower supplies oxygen to the bacteria that treat the wastewater.
- ClarifierRemaining solids settle out and are returned for treatment.
- DisinfectionChlorine tablets disinfect the treated water.
- IrrigationThe pump sprays or drips the treated water over your irrigation area.
Please do
- Leave the power on at all times. The blower must run continuously, including when you are away.
- Spread your laundry across the week rather than washing it all in one day.
- Repair leaking taps and running toilets promptly. Excess water can flush the plant out.
- Use household cleaners in moderation. Biodegradable, septic-safe products are best.
- Scrape plates into the bin and wipe greasy pans with paper towel before washing them.
- Keep the lids and control box clear and easy to access. Do not cover them with soil, mulch, pavers or pot plants.
- Keep up the regular servicing your council requires, and call us if anything seems wrong.
Please do not
- Flush anything other than toilet paper. This includes wet wipes (even those marketed as “flushable”), nappies, pads, tampons, cotton buds, floss, condoms and cat litter.
- Pour fats, oils or grease down the sink, or send food scraps, coffee grounds or waste from a garbage disposal unit into the system.
- Use large amounts of bleach, disinfectants, antibacterial products or drain cleaners, as they kill the bacteria that treat the wastewater.
- Pour paint, solvents, oils, pesticides or medicines down any drain.
- Connect roof water, stormwater, pool or spa water to the system.
- Switch the plant off to stop an alarm, or leave it switched off.
If the alarm goes off
Most plants have two alarms: a high water alarm, which indicates that the tank is filling, and an air alarm, which indicates that the blower is not delivering enough air. Many control panels show which alarm is active. Most have a buzzer and a warning light, and many have a button to silence the buzzer.
Check the power
Confirm that the plant’s power point and the circuit breaker at your switchboard are switched on.
Water alarm? Check the irrigation
A high water alarm usually means the irrigation pump is not pumping out. Check that the pump is plugged in and switched on, and that the irrigation hose is not kinked or crushed. Reduce water use, including washing, the dishwasher and long showers, until the problem is resolved.
Air alarm? Check the blower
The air blower should be running and delivering air. If it is silent, check that it is plugged in and switched on. Occasionally the small hose to the alarm’s pressure switch comes loose: if you can see that it has come off, push it back on. Do not open any electrical components.
Still sounding? Call us
Call 0495 096 532. You may silence the buzzer, but please do not ignore the warning light: a plant can overflow within hours to days.
Your irrigation area
- Keep vehicles, trailers and livestock off the area, and do not build, pave or place a shed or pool over it.
- Keep the grass mown and the sprinklers or drippers clear of long grass and garden beds.
- Do not grow fruit or vegetables for eating in the irrigation area.
- Keep children and pets away while the area is being irrigated, and leave the warning signs in place.
- Tell us about boggy or odorous patches, pooling water, or effluent running off the area.
Signs of a problem
- A sewage or rotten-egg odour around the plant or yard
- Toilets or drains that are slow to empty or gurgling
- Boggy, odorous or unusually lush green patches in the irrigation area
- Sprinklers that do not operate, or that spray dark or odorous water
- Water pooling around the tank lids
Call us early. Small problems are quicker and less costly to fix.
Chlorine: important safety warning
Only use chlorine tablets made for home treatment plants. Never use pool chlorine (stabilised or “trichlor” pool tablets) in your chlorinator.
Mixing different types of chlorine can cause a fire, an explosion or toxic gas. We replenish your chlorine at every service. If you run out between services, please call us rather than purchasing tablets.
Servicing and your council
Queensland councils require treatment plants to be serviced regularly by a licensed service technician. For most systems this means every three months. After each service, a service report (Form 11) is submitted to your council and you receive a copy.
With an Effluent Works service agreement, we remind you when a service is due, carry it out and lodge the Form 11 on your behalf.
Going away, or lost power?
Leave the plant switched on when you go away. After a long power outage or a severe storm, check the alarm light once power is restored, and call us if it is on or you notice an odour.
Questions, alarms or servicing?
Call 0495 096 532 or send us an enquiry.