Ref: Source: Niranjan Pudasaini

B.C. Punima and

S.K. Garg

CHAPTER 4.6

Design of isolated toilet , septic tank and

soak pit
Pit Privy (vfǔ6]] rkL{{)

❖ Widely used in developing country

❖ Pit is made inside the latrine to collect and disposal of human
excreta
❖ Purpose: To collect and safe on site disposal of human excreta
❖ Construction:
* A pit of (90 – 120 cm diameter) or (1m ×1m)
in plan and (2 – 3 m depth)
* May be lined or unlined
* Covered with a squatting plate seat slab with a cover in hole
* Temporary foundations and superstructure to protect from
rain and for privacy

6
 Pit Privy (vfǔ6] rkL{)
❖ When digested sludge reaches to the level 50 cm below the top, pit
is filled with a 50 – 75 mm thick earth layer
❖ Super structure and squatting plate is shifted to the next position
(i.e. next pit).
❖ The filled pit can be reused after 2 years 7
 VIP (Ventilated Improved Pit) latrine
(;''wfl/Psf vfǔ6 rkL{{)
❖ Pit privy: unhygienic and dangerous for children
❖ Improvement over pit privy by a vent pipe is called VIP latrine
❖ Slightly offset superstructure
❖ Purpose: To collect and dispose of human excreta for maintaining hygienic
conditions
❖ Construction:
✓ 12 – 15 m away from the buildings
✓ A lined or unlined 1.2 m diameter and 1.5 m deep pit
✓ Liquid absorption by the surrounding soils
✓ A concrete or timber squatting plate (pan) with a hole with two footrests
and a cover.
✓ A 90 mm diameter vent pipe to escape foul gases
✓ Top of vent pipe with wire net or cowl to prevent flies and other insect
✓ Vent pipe painted black and more height than building at the locality.
✓ Superstructure for maintaining privacy and to protect from rain.
✓ Use of local materials (brick, stone masonry, straw and bamboo etc.
8
✓ Lined pits can be cleaned after fill
✓ Unlined pit is covered with thick layer of soil and
✓ Another hole is constructed nearby.
❖ Types: single pit, double pit, multiple pits

VIP (Ventilated Improved Pit) latrine

(;''wfl/Psf] vfǔ6 rkL{{)
]
9
Design criteria for VIP
❖ One pit for at least 2 years and two pits for alternate use
❖ Vent pipe minimum 90 mm diameter.
❖ Circular pit
❖ GWT (Ground water table) at least 2 m below from the bottom of pit
❖ No Large depth for unlined pits.
❖The effective volume of pit is given by:
V = NRT,
where,
N = No. of users;
R = digested sludge accumulation rate taken as 0.04 to 0.05
m3/person/year
T = Design period or filling periods in years (minimum 2
years)
❖ One pit for 100 students and for each 50 students, 1 pit is
added. 10
Example 1
Design a VIP latrine for a family of 8 persons. Assume necessary
data.

Given,
Number of users (N) = 8; Dimension of pit =?
Assuming digested sludge accumulation rate (R) = 0.05 m3/person/yr
and desludging period (T) = 2 years, Volume (V) = NRT = 8 × 0.05 × 2 =
0.8 m3
Assume effective depth (d) = 1m;
V = 0.8
Then top area of pit (A) = = 0.8 m2
d 1
If Φ is diameter of pit, then
2

A = 4A 4 0.8
= = = 1.009 ≈ 1 m
4
Provide, free board (FB) = 0.5m, then overall depth
(D) = d + FB = 1 + 0.5 = 1.5m
11
Adopt 1 pit of 1m diameter and 1.5m deep.
SEPTIC TANK

❖ Sedimentation cum digestion tank

❖ Rectangular watertight chamber
❖ Brickwork or stone masonry or RCC
❖ Built underground to collect the human excreta (sometimes
other sewage also) in the unsewered area
❖ Much more costly than pit latrines hence used by medium
class (not poor) people in semi-urban areas.

❖ Purpose:
To collect the sewage, settle the solid matters, create the
digestion process effective and dispose effluent in the
safe way.

15
 Advantages and Disadvantages of Septic Tank

Advantages Disadvantages
- Can be constructed easily - The size required is large and
- Very little attention and skilled uneconomical
attendance is required - Their functioning and action is erratic
- The sludge is relatively small, most of it - The effluent is dark and foul smelling
being liquefied and digested with high BOD
- The cost is quite affordable for - Leakage of gases from the top cause
individual house holders bad smell and environmental pollution
- There are no more parts for its - Periodic cleaning, removal and
operation disposal of sludge is often tedious
- The effluent can be disposed of easily,
without much trouble
16
Construction

17
Septic tank for 25 users
Working

❖ Anaerobic digestion
❖ Settling
❖ Floating of lighter fats, etc
❖ Gas escape from vent
❖ Effluent proper disposal

Maintenance

❖ No disinfectants, soap water, paper, kitchen water,

garbage and surface water are allowed
❖ The digested sludge is withdrawn from septic tank at
least in 6 months to 3 years and properly disposed off
18
Design Criteria
1. Sewage flow: Dry sludge = 70g/d/person

Probable peak discharges (Q) in liter/minute (Indian Condition)

Small Residential Housing Eating establishment
(domestic)tanks colonies as Boarding schools etc
No of No of
Q Q No of users Q
users users
5 10 100 240 50 84
10 20 150 360 100 168
15 20 200 480 150 266
20 30 300 720 200 350
25 40 300 518
30 40
35 50
40 60
45 60
50 70 19
2. Tank dimension

N = no of users and Q = sewage flow rate

a) Detention time (t) = 1 – 3 days
b) Minimum width (Bmin) = 0.75 m
c) Free board (FB) = 0.3 – 0.45 m
d) Minimum effective depth (dmin) =1m
e) Length width ratio (L:B) =2–4
f) Volume (V): It is the summation of following;
So, Effective Volume (V) = V1 + V2+ V3
▪ Volume for settling of sewage (V1) = Q × t
▪ Volume for sludge digestion (V2) = 0.0425 N (in m3) [i.e. 0.0425
m3/person]
▪ Volume for storage of digested sludge (V3) = Cds × N,
Where,
Cds = digested sludge rate which depends upon cleaning period ‘T’ and
given in table below
20
 Digested sludge rate (Cds) for different cleaning period ‘T’

6 months 1 yrs 2 yrs 3 yrs

Desludging period (T)
Digested sludge rate
0.0283 0.0490 0.0708 0.0850
(Cds) in m3/ person

Septic tank effluent disposal methods

❖ Effluent: septic and malodorous containing organic
matters and pathogens
❖ Nuisance and hazard on public health
❖ Properly disposed off
❖ By various methods
a) Drain field
b) Evapo-transpiration mound
c) Leaching cesspool
d) Soak pit
21
Soak pit or seepage pit

❖ The circular (more common) pit preferred to disposed

effluent by soaking in the surrounding soil.
❖ Preferred when water table is sufficiently below GL
and land available is low
❖ It is economical, stable and high efficient if soil is
porous
❖ Purpose: To dispose the septic tank effluent by absorption in
the surrounding soil.
❖ Construction:
✓ Unlined pit is filled with bricks, stone aggregate and sand
and cover is not necessary
✓ Lined soak pit is empty inside but filled with sand, gravel and
stone in outside shell and a cover is required
✓ Lined pit wall may be honey combed and aid dry. 29
Soak pits 30
Design criteria:
❖ The minimum diameter 0.9 m
❖ Maximum diameter 3.5 m
❖ Depth as per GWT
❖ Effective depth (depth below invert of inlet) > 100cm.
❖ No ground water sources with in the radius of 60 m.
❖ Design formula: Q
π d=
Where, I
Φ = Diameter in m; d = Effective depth in m;
Q = Effluent discharge in m3/d and
I = infiltration capacity of soil in m3/m2/d
If more than one soak pits are designed then the clear distance
between the two pits should be kept 3 times the diameter of the
largest diameter pit.
130
Infiltration rate is computed as: I= (liters/m2/day)
where Tr depends upon soil type. Tr
In absence of data Tr = 25 min/cm may be taken
31
Example 9.2
Design a septic tank for a house having 8 persons. The rate of
sewage is 100 lpcd. Assume sludge is cleaned from ST once in
3 years. If percolation rate is 25 min/cm, design the drain
field to dispose the effluent. If soak pit is used, what will be
the dimension of soak pit. Given that GWT is 4.5 m below
ground surface.

Given,
Number of users (N) = 8;
Rate of sewage flow (q) = 100 lpcd;
Desludging period (T) = 3 yrs;
Infiltration rate of soil (Tr) = 25 min/cm;
GWT = 4.5 m below GL;
Dimension of ST =?;
Dimension of DF =?;
Dimension of SP =? 32
Here,
Sewage discharge (Q) = q × N = 100 × 8 = 800 l/d = 0.8 m3/d

Septic tank
Assume detention period (t) = 1 day and
sludge digestion volume rate = 0.0425 m3/person
Volume for settling of sewage (V1) = Q × t = 0.8 × 1 = 0.8 m3

Volume for sludge digestion (V2) = 0.0425 N = 0.0425 × 8

= 0.34 m3
Volume for storage of digested sludge (V3) = Cds × N
From Table 9.2, for T = 3 yrs,
Digested sludge rate (Cds) = 0.085 m3/person
So, V3 = Cds × N = 0.085 × 8 = 0.68 m3

Total effective volume (V) = V1 + V2 + V3

= 0.8 + 0.34 + 0.68 = 1.82 m3
33
Assume effective depth (d) = 1m;
V 1.82
Then top area of tank (A) = = = 1.82 m2
d 1
Taking< Length width ratio (L/B) = 3 ,
A = L × B = 3B × B = 3B2
A 1.82
B= = = 0.77 ≈ 0.8 m > 0.75 m, hence ok.
3 3
Now, length (L) = 3B = 3 × 0.8 = 2.4 m
taking free board (FB) = 0.4m,
then overall depth (D) = d + FB = 1 + 0.4 = 1.4m

Adopt 2.4m × 0.8m × 1.4m Septic tank

34
Soak Pit
We know, GWT should lie 2m below the bottom of SP, then,
Maximum depth of soak pit = 4.5 – 2 = 2.5 m
130 130
Soil infiltration capacity (I) = l/ m /d =
2
= 26 l/m2/d
Tr 25
Q 800
Area required for infiltration (A) = = = 30.77 m2
I 26
Assuming number of circular pits (n) = 2 of diameter ‘Φ’ and
effective depth (d) = 2 m, We have,
A =
A 30.77
πΦd= =
n n d 2 2
= 2.448 ≈ 2.5 m (>0.9 and <3.5 ok)
Provide, free board (FB) = 0.5m,
then overall depth (D) = d + FB = 2 + 0.5 = 2.5m
Adopt 2 nos of 2.5m diameter 2.5m deep circular SP 36