Existing Wastewater Treatment Facilities

Individual On-site Systems: generally, septic tank and leaching field systems serving a single home or business, and located on the same parcel as the home or business. In Massachusetts, these are typically referred to as Title 5 systems, which imply treatment in a simple septic tank prior to discharge to a subsurface disposal system. Some individual on-site systems involve enhanced treatment, as defined below. These systems are permitted by local boards of health and managed by individual property owners.  

Cluster Systems: systems for wastewater collection, treatment and disposal that involve multiple parcels and/or multiple wastewater generators, served by a single system. Cluster systems typically have capacities between 1,000 and 10,000 gallons per day (gpd). Cluster systems may be as simple as gravity pipes leading to a shared septic tank and shared disposal field, but may also include grinder pumps, low pressure sewer systems and modular plants providing enhanced treatment. A good example of a cluster system is the one serving the Red Lily Pond area of Barnstable, which has individual septic tanks that pump to a shared leaching area. Other systems serve condominiums, assisted living facilities or cottage colonies.These systems are typically permitted by local boards of health and by DEP, and are managed by property owners or associations of property owners.  

Satellite Systems: for the purposes of this study, those facilities for wastewater collection, treatment and disposal that require a DEP groundwater discharge permit and are intended to serve a closely defined area. (In general, DEP groundwater discharge permits are required for facilities that have wastewater flows exceeding 10,000 gpd, which is roughly equivalent to 30 three bedroom homes.) Many of the satellite systems on Cape Cod have been built by private developers to serve condominium projects, nursing homes, and shopping centers. While many are privately developed, satellite systems can be publicly owned, such as the system at Sandwich High School, or the planned New Silver Beach plant in Falmouth. (This plant is being developed to help alleviate failed septic systems and is considered to be a "satellite" because it is separate from theFalmouth centralized system.) Private satellite plants are typically managed by the commercial property owner or condominium association; publicly-owned satellite plants are managed by the local public works department, school department or other town entity. 

Enhanced Treatment: wastewater treatment technology intended to provide a higher quality effluent than produced by a septic tank and leaching field. There are several technologies approved by DEP for individual and cluster systems treating residential wastewater that remove nitrogen to less than 19 mg/l (compared with the 35 mg/l concentration commonly assumed for the discharge from a septic tank and leaching field system). These technologies are approved for 25 mg/l on non-residential wastes. There are several technologies approved by DEP for satellite and centralized plants where groundwater discharge permits typically require nitrogen concentrations below 10 mg/l. Some newer permits have nitrogen limits of 5 mg/l or below. All of the technologies employed to meet these more-stringent-than-Title-5 limits are termed "enhanced treatment" in this report. Enhanced treatment can also include phosphorus removal. Enhanced treatment systems are also referred to as "innovative/alternative technology" 

From: Enhancing Wastewater Management on Cape Cod: Planning, Administrative and Legal Tools Report to Barnstable County Report to Barnstable County July 2004 Wright Pierce