The Septic System Owner's Manual

The Septic System Owner's Manual book might be great if i was designing my own DIY septic system. It explains the basic and covers how to build a drain field. It also covers things like greywater, composting toilets, water management and the history of wastewater management. The diagrams are great and in the style of R Crumb / How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive. Very easy to read. Complete glossary, index and resources are included.However it does not cover my Aerobic system, where oxygen is pumped in. There are a lot of differences from an old fasioned Anaerobic system. Aerobic systems are talked about in one paragraph and called a pirana / sludgehammer system. (Sledgehammer is the name of a company, not an actual type of system.) Never referred to as an Aerobic system, nor are the benefits talked about. If i was going to do my own DIY septic system, an Aerobic system would be the way to go. This is a HUGE omission of the book.I bought this book so i could figure out and maintain the system that came with the house we bought. This book does not live up to its name of “Owner's Manual” for me. I will keep it, but its of no real use to me.

Lloyd Kahn's book was recommended to my by a most capable and wise builder who said it was probably one of Kahn's best books. In fact it was one of only two books he recommended when I told him I wanted to homestead and learn to build and asked him for ALL his top recommendations.To begin our family homestead we needed land. First we looked at raw land in Northern California, which would mean we were required to install a septic system. But California, as Kahn can and does attest to, is the largest champion of over engineering and overly-complicating septic systems. The battles his community (and many others) have had to deal with gave rise to this book: a means for homeowners and policy makers to demystify the whole "septic" process.Sadly California is still one of the worst places to have a septic system if you don't have a lot of money. The state code does allow for exceptions to the typical septic requirements if water usage is "very low" - if memory serves it was less than 200 gallons per day. As homesteaders we ran a very conservative estimate and would have been WAY under the threshold.Sadly most counties and municipalities have avoided taking on the burden of septic site evaluations and instead granted the right to do so to the last group that should be allowed to do so: the installers of septic systems. A more egregious conflict of interest can hardly be imagined; yet it is the norm across much of California.Consequently very few people in authority even know that exceptions can be made to the usual septic system requirements. And certainly none of the people in the business of evaluating and installing septic systems want other people to know about it.Thankfully we found a wonderful place (not in California) that came with a normal, plane-jane, gravity fed septic system. I learned enough from Kahn's book to do all the maintenance myself. In fact, even if the pipes cracked in my drain field I know exactly how to fix it.As to complaints about the book not covering advanced septic technology, it helped me unravel the proposal foisted upon me by the septic folks in CA: and at-grade, advanced treatment system with trickling biofilter technology. The septic system that I'd have to convince the county I didn't need (good luck) would have cost 33% more than the land value itself.The book isn't meant to be an exhaustive resource. It's meant to educate the lay person to a degree that she or he is comfortable with the basics of the technology and biological process at work in a system. It can provide pointers for more in-depth research. It certainly didn't contain all the information I needed, but I learned enough that I could do all my own follow up research online.The troubleshooting sections are not detail-heavy, but they should be more than enough to get you started. Again the book's bread-and-butter is proper usage and maintenance in order to PREVENT problems. If you have existing, complicated problems, this book wasn't written for that situation. But I'm sure it will still point you in the right direction and teach you the right questions to ask.Beyond general information, it really shines as an expose' on how overly-burdensome requirements and oversight on septic systems can (and do!) occur. Don't let you or your community get sucked into needless and wasteful infrastructure projects! Education is the only sensible way forward. And Kahn executes some excellent education in this book.

We bought a summer place with a septic system. Neither my wife nor I had ever had to deal with this before and the information is useful.

Everything you ever wanted to know about septics, in simple terminology. Makes the science of septics interesting, if you can believe it. If you want to know how yours works, how to maintain it, or even how to build a new one, this is for you.

If you have a septic system, or plan to build a Septic System, get this book!I learned the hard way, seeing sewage flowing out of my full new septic (?) into the country lane next to my house.I just built a house in the Andes, near Cusco, Peru, South America. I was American proud. Yes, I had the first septic system in the entire valley (that's right boys and girls, the first septic. Yes, all that raw sewage, from all of Peru's Andean communities, hundreds, if not thousands of villages and towns, flows directly into the streams and rivers of Peru). I was proud.For all my construction I hired a 30ish "degreed", civil engineer. For my "septic" he dug a deep, twelve foot hole and poured 16" thick cement for its walls, closed it with a metal lid and told me I had a septic. Months latter, this cement hole, filled up and overflowed. What he built was not a septic system, but a 12', cement lined, hole. When I had some local farmers help me dig a new septic/cesspool one of them said, "No mister, your engineer didn't know 'pooo' about septics" (a more exact word was used). He was right, but then, until this book, neither did I.If I had bought this book (or actually got an engineer who knew something) I would have saved myself a lot of anguish and smell. This is an excellent, basic primer on just about everything youwill ever need to know about moving black water from your home to a world that the worms and bacteria love. Plus, the book has great sections on 'graywater' and composting toilet systems.Well written and very easy to understand. Plus, a unique chapter on the "History of Wastewater Disposal". I bet you can't wait for this late night reading.

Who would every think that I (or you) would read a book about Septic systems??? Well, if you have had an issue with yours, this is very helpful! Easy read, insightful, and ...humorous!

But it for the art.

Sadly it’s American publication but we have still gathered knowledge from parts of it

As with many American books the author is enthusiastic about his subject and keen to pass on his knowledge. A very informative and enjoyable read.

Very useful, although very much orientated to US septic systems.

We live in a Seniors park and there were some major problems with the septic system. After reading this book we created a handout for the residents; outlining the does and don't of septic living.

Best book i could find on the topic yet,,very well done with lots of image,,great book..