Rock-Reed Wastewater Treatment Cell Construction
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Rock%Reed(Wastewater(Treatment(Cell(Project(Construction:(
Document!created!by!Erik!Hauenstein,!8/14/2015!
!
Summary:! Starting! in! early! June! and! ending! in! late! July! of! 2015! a! rockBreed!
wastewater! treatment! cell! designed! and! partially! constructed! by! Iracambi!
volunteers! from! Ball! State! University! had! finished! being! constructed! by! other!
Iracambistas! including! Erik! Hauenstein,! Jurre! Locht,! Toni,! Leandro! Santana,! and!
many!more!volunteers!and!locals!involved!with!Iracambi.!
The! design! of! the! system! may! be! seen! on! the! report! written! by! the! Ball! State!
University! students! and! their! professor.! Construction! involved! preparing! a! large!
ditch!to!be!the!correct!length!of!about!9.9!m,!width!of!about!3.6!m,!depth!starting!at!
66cm!and!ending!at!45!cm!(from!left!to!right!on!diagram!below),!and!it!was!leveled,!
placing! about! 5! cm! of! sand! on! the! dirt! to! level! the! ground! more,! laying! down! a!
plastic! impermeable! layer,! inserting! the! wastewater! inlet! “T”! pipe,! layering! on!
gravel!of!various!sizes,!and!inserting!the!purified!water!outlet!“Y”!pipe.!See!below!
for!stepBbyBstep!photos.!Reeds!will!be!planted!the!top!layer!of!the!cell!in!the!future.!
How! it! works:! The! concept! of! a! rockBreed! wastewater! treatment! cell! is! simple.!
Wastewater!(including!blackwater)!is!sent!from!Centro!at!Iracambi!to!a!septic!tank!
via!piping.!As!the!tank!fills!up!and!larger!solids!settle!as!liquids!flow!out!from!the!top!
of! the! tank! into! a! pipe! that! leads! the! wastewater! into! the! treatment! cell.! A! “T”!
shaped!diffuser!allows!the!water!to!percolate!into!the!system!on!the!66!cm!deep!end!
where!it!pools!up.!As!the!water!pools!it!leaves!behind!waste!particles!on!the!larger!
gravel.!Once!it!pools!to!20!cm!then!it!flows!over!a!hump!toward!the!shallow!45!cm!
deep! end! of! the! cell,! being! cleaned! by! both! large! and! small! pieces! of! gravel! as! it!
flows.! Reeds! planted! on! top! of! the! gravel! grow! roots! down! into! the! gravel! and!
absorb!the!nutrients!the!water!leaves!behind!as!it!filters.!Once!the!water!reaches!the!
other! end! of! the! cell! it! enters! into! a! “Y”! shaped! collector! pipe! where! it! exits! the!
treatment!cell.!The!purified!water!will!be!diverted!to!a!nearby!swamp!where!it!can!
slowly!be!absorbed!into!the!groundwater.!
Treatment!Cell!Diagram!(Aerial!View):!
!
!
Septic!Tank!
(located!near!
top!of!hill)!
Uphill!
Direction!
Treatment!Cell!
Ditch!(leveled)!
Wastewater!Inlet!“T”!Pipe! Purified!Water!Outlet!“Y”!Pipe!
Wastewater!
Flow!out!of!
Septic!Tank!