Septic tank
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| - | [[Image:La Toilette intime by Louis-Léopold Boilly.jpg|thumb|right|200px|''[[La Toilette intime (Boilly)|La Toilette intime ]]'' by [[Louis-Léopold Boilly]]]] | ||
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| - | A [[toilet]], plumbing fixture and disposal system primarily intended for the disposal of the [[bodily waste]]s. Before the 20th century, '''toilet''' universally referred to personal [[grooming]], [[bathing]] and [[washing]] [[combing]] or arranging one's hair, shaving, etc., a sense preserved today in '''[[toiletry]]''' 'personal grooming item'. Nowadays, it is mostly used to indicate a [[lavatory]]. "Toilet of the mouth", however, is still is use by oral surgeons. | ||
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| - | the disposal of human excrement and urine, often found in a small room referred to as a [[toilet (room)|toilet/bathroom/lavatory]]. [[Flush toilet]]s, which are common in many parts of the world, may be connected to a nearby [[septic tank]] or more commonly in urban areas via "large" ({{convert|3|-|6|in|cm|disp=comma}}) sewer pipe connected to a [[sewerage]] pipe system. The water and waste from many different sources is piped in large pipes to a more distant [[sewage treatment|sewage treatment plant]]. [[Chemical toilet]]s are used in mobile and many temporary situations where there is no access to sewerage, dry toilets, including [[pit toilet]]s and [[composting toilet]] require no or little water with excreta being removed manually or [[composted]] in situ. | ||
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| - | The word ''toilet'' may also be used, especially in [[British English]] to describe the [[Toilet (room)|room containing the fixture]], for which [[euphemisms]] such as ''restroom'' or ''bathroom'' are used in [[American English]]. Prior to the introduction of modern flush toilets, most human waste disposal was done through the use of household [[chamber pot]]s, or took place outdoors in [[outhouse]]s or [[latrines]]. [[Pail closet]]s were introduced in England and France in an attempt to reduce sewage problems in rapidly expanding cities. | ||
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| - | Ancient civilizations used toilets attached to simple flowing water sewage systems included those of the [[Indus Valley Civilization]], e.g., [[Harappa]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.harappa.com/indus/12.html|title=Bathing Area|author=Mohenjo-daro, Sindh}}</ref> and [[Mohenjo-daro]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://web.archive.org/web/20040519100526/http://www.the-south-asian.com/April2004/toilet_museum.htm|title=Loo and Behold!— A Toilet Museum!|author=Anurag Yadav|work=the-south-asian.com|date=April 2004.}}</ref> which are located in present day India and Pakistan<ref>[http://tampub.uta.fi/tup/951-44-6251-3.pdf Kaivot Ja Käymälät: Johdatus Historiaan Esimerkkinä Suomi (A Brief History of Wells and Toilets - The Case of Finland)], Petri S. Juuti and Katri J. Wallenius, Tampere University Press, ePublications, Tampere, 2005.</ref> and also the [[Ancient Rome|Romans]] and [[Ancient Egypt|Egyptians]].<ref>[http://www.infoweb.co.nz/toilet Who invented a version of the flowing water toilet<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> Although a precursor to the modern flush toilet system was designed in 1596 by [[John Harington (inventor)|John Harington]],<ref>[http://www.victoriancrapper.com/Toilethistory.HTML A History of the flush toilet<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> such systems did not come into widespread use until the late nineteenth century.<ref>''[http://www.amazon.com/dp/193259521X Poop Culture: How America is Shaped by its Grossest National Product]'', Dave Praeger, ISBN 1-932595-21-X</ref> [[Thomas Crapper]] was one of the early maker of toilets in England. | ||
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| - | Diseases, including [[cholera]] which still affects some 3 million people each year, can be largely prevented when effective sanitation and water treatment prevents fecal matter from contaminating [[waterways]], [[groundwater]] and [[drinking water]] supplies. Infected water supplies can be treated to make the water safe for consumption and use.<ref name=WHO2010>{{cite web |url=http://www.who.int/immunization/Cholera_PP_Accomp_letter__Mar_10_2010.pdf |title=Cholera vaccines. A brief summary of the March 2010 position paper |format=PDF |work=[[World Health Organization]] |accessdate=}}</ref> There have been five main [[cholera outbreaks and pandemics]] since 1825, during one of which 10,000 people died in 1849 in London alone. The physician [[John Snow (physician)|John Snow]] proved that deaths were being caused by people drinking water from a source that had been contaminated by a nearby [[cesspit]] which was used by people who were infected with cholera. The London sewer system of the time had not reached crowded Soho and many houses had [[cellars]] (basements) with overflowing cesspools underneath their floorboards. | ||
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| - | According to ''The Global Water Supply and Sanitation Assessment 2000'' by the [[World Health Organization]], 40% of the global population does not have access to "good" 'excreta disposal facilities'--they live mostly in Asia and Africa. There are efforts being made to design simple effective [[squat toilets]] for these people.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.worldtoilet.org |title=? |author= |date= |work= |publisher= |accessdate= }}</ref> Usually, they are made by digging a hole, then installing a premade plastic squat toilet seat atop this hole, covering the walls with canvas.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org |title=? |author= |date= |work= |publisher= |accessdate=September 16, 2011}}</ref> | ||
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| + | A '''septic tank''' is a key component of the '''septic system''', a small-scale [[sewage treatment]] system common in areas with no connection to main sewage pipes provided by local governments or private corporations. (Other components, typically mandated and/or restricted by local governments, optionally include pumps, alarms, [[sand filter]]s, and clarified liquid effluent disposal means such as a [[septic drain field]], ponds, natural stone fiber filter plants or [[Sphagnum|peat moss]] beds.) Septic systems are a type of On-Site Sewage Facility ([[OSSF]]). In [[North America]], approximately 25% of the population relies on septic tanks; this can include [[suburbs]] and small towns as well as [[rural]] areas ([[Indianapolis]] is an example of a large city where many of the city's neighborhoods are still on separate septic systems).In Europe, they are in general limited to rural areas only. Since a septic system requires a [[drainfield]] that uses a lot of land area, they are not suitable for densely built cities. | ||
| - | == See also == | ||
| - | *[[Fountain (Duchamp)]] | + | ==See also== |
| - | *[[Lady at her toilette]] | + | * [[Blackwater (waste)]] |
| - | *[[Toilet humour]] | + | * [[Bioreactor]] |
| - | *[[Toilet philosophy]] | + | * [[Cesspit]] |
| - | * [[Bidet]] | + | * [[Drain-waste-vent system]] |
| - | * [[Public toilet]] | + | * [[Ecological sanitation]] |
| - | * [[Urinal]] | + | * [[Effluent sewer]] Septic Tank Effluent Pumping (STEP) |
| + | * [[Grease interceptor]] | ||
| + | * [[Latrine]] | ||
| + | * [[Mound system]] (a type of septic system) | ||
| + | * [[Outhouse]] | ||
| + | * [[Percolation test]]ing (for the capacity of soil to absorb water) | ||
| + | * [[Pit toilet]] | ||
| + | * [[Sanitary sewer]] | ||
| + | * [[Sepsis]] | ||
| + | * [[Septage]] | ||
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A septic tank is a key component of the septic system, a small-scale sewage treatment system common in areas with no connection to main sewage pipes provided by local governments or private corporations. (Other components, typically mandated and/or restricted by local governments, optionally include pumps, alarms, sand filters, and clarified liquid effluent disposal means such as a septic drain field, ponds, natural stone fiber filter plants or peat moss beds.) Septic systems are a type of On-Site Sewage Facility (OSSF). In North America, approximately 25% of the population relies on septic tanks; this can include suburbs and small towns as well as rural areas (Indianapolis is an example of a large city where many of the city's neighborhoods are still on separate septic systems).In Europe, they are in general limited to rural areas only. Since a septic system requires a drainfield that uses a lot of land area, they are not suitable for densely built cities.
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See also
- Blackwater (waste)
- Bioreactor
- Cesspit
- Drain-waste-vent system
- Ecological sanitation
- Effluent sewer Septic Tank Effluent Pumping (STEP)
- Grease interceptor
- Latrine
- Mound system (a type of septic system)
- Outhouse
- Percolation testing (for the capacity of soil to absorb water)
- Pit toilet
- Sanitary sewer
- Sepsis
- Septage
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