Together with Government initiatives to improve the sanitary situation at Muri to date almost 100 Biolytix tanks are in operation on Rarotonga all helping to minimise the threat of lagoon contamination.
Septic tanks have very little treatment qualities. They rely on a settling process. Anaerobic bacteria in the tank break down solid matter at a very slow rate, therefore the solids accumulate in the bottom of the tank and require periodic removal.
The principle of a septic tank is this: the wastewater all enters a tank of one or more chambers, in each chamber the solids settle to the bottom and the scum floats to the top, the clear water in the middle then passes to the next chamber and finally out to a soakage area. The water has no large solid matter but does contain various contaminants that are not good for your health; the final treatment occurs in the soil where the effluent is discharged.
Sites that benefit from Septic Tanks
Easy access
Septic tanks need to be periodically sucked out to remove the accumulated solids. A truck needs to be able to access the site.
Rural areas
Septic tanks can be used for those properties that can’t connect to the main sewage system.
Non-sensitive ecological systems
The water that is disposed of into the soakage area doesn’t contain solids, but it does contain harmful contaminants.
Power-free, mildly-sloped sites
To discharge with just gravity and zero power, a septic with a siphon discharge only requires a height drop of 1.5m from the tank to the disposal field.
