A community wastewater system provides wastewater treatment and disposal for a group of homes or businesses located in close proximity to one another. Community septic systems are the most relevant type of community wastewater system for West Gloucester. Wastewater first flows to a septic tank, where solids and grease are separated and detained, and then to a leaching field where wastewater is treated by organisms in the soil and discharged to the ground. A variety of technologies can be used as part of community septic systems to provide secondary treatment, which removes chemical and biological contaminants, as well as nitrogen, from the wastewater.
Wastewater is aerated to improve treatment by biooxidation.
An oxygen-poor settling area is sometimes included to maximize nitrogen removal. Additional information on these and other technologies is available by following the web links provided at the end of this page. A community wastewater system could be built, maintained, and funded by a private developer, a group of homeowners, or a municipality. There are numerous examples of each of these situations. Homeowners that are connected to a community wastewater system should observe the same restrictions as septic system owners on what they put down the drain.