This update of the 1980 Design Manual: Onsite Wastewater Treatment and Disposal Systems was developed to provide supplemental and new information for wastewater treatment professionals in both the public and private sectors. This manual is not intended to replace the previous manual, but rather to further explore and discuss recent developments in treatment technologies, system design, and long-term system management.
The information in the chapters that follow is provided in response to several calls for a more focused approach to onsite wastewater treatment and onsite system management. Congress has expressed interest in the status of site level approaches for treating wastewater, and the Executive Branch has issued directives for moving forward with improving both the application of treatment technologies and management of the systems installed.
The 1980 design manual provides basic technical information on generic types of onsite wastewater treatment and disposal systems and can be used as a reference document in conjunction with the current manual. The manual is available at the following Web Site: http://www.epa.gov/ORD/NRMRL/Pubs/625180012/625180012.htm.
