Passage of Microorganisms in Septic Tank Effluents Through Mound Sand in a Controlled Laboratory Environment

Introduction: Pristine groundwater is a greatly treasured Wisconsin resource. Protection of this resource in part relies on removal of organisms from anthropogenic activities that are likely to contaminate ground water. While there is a fairly large literature on the passage of microbes through soil, the specific question of the passage of organisms from relatively clean wastewater effluents through mound sand has received little attention. The basic question to be answered by the research described in this report is: “Do microorganisms suspended in wastewaters from private onsite wastewater treatment systems pass through mound sand in laboratory scale column experiments” This is a complex, multi-faceted question that could be answered with many approaches. The intent of this report is to capture all experimental data with minimal interpretation and discussion.