Low Pressure Systems

[raven]

In our area they have been installing these low pressure sysytems in new residential neighbourhoods when the city does not want to put in large pumpstations. Each home on the street has their own pump. Some utilize a septic tank to filter to pump station then up the street to main line (100-200 yards or so) system and others have the household waste go staight to a grinder pump then up the street to the main line system. The latter is the current preffered system. As the city gets larger there are more and more of these systems. Questions: Will these grinder pumps stand up to the average households abuse??? How often should these pump stations be cleaned?? Is the former system utilizeing the septic tank better?? I would think the tank cleaning costs occasionally would be sufficiently less $$$$ than replacing one of those pumps. Any thoughts??

[bearmtnmartin]

well, any chance the company doing the installs is corex, and they are putting in clearford clarifiers? I have seen that smoke show out in my area(upper Fraser Valley). Its a step system(septic tank effluent pumping).In some cases, it allows a developer to install a cheaper centralised treatment plant to treat effluent, while leaving the solids(the expensive to treat part) behind in the tank to be someone elses problem. the city takes over the plant in 10 or 15 years time, and responsibility for all the tanks, which are be then full to the brim with anaerobic sludge that the real treatment plant gets to deal with somehow. I would like to know why not just put a grinder pump in a lift station already and get rid of everything instead of leaving most of it behind. For the record, those grinder pumps are pretty good. I have seen them at demo's chewing up diapers and leather gloves. In a lift station the pump sucks right off the bottom, so there is not much need for cleaning.