Decentralized wastewater management systems are permanent sustainable systems that treat wastewater at or near the source where it is generated. They operate independently of centralized/municipal wastewater collection and treatment infrastructure. Public or private decentralized systems use a variety of approaches for collection, treatment, and dispersal/reuse of wastewater for individual dwellings, industrial or institutional/commercial facilities, clusters of homes or businesses, and small communities where it is not technically or economically feasible to extend centralized/municipal wastewater services. They provide a range of treatment options from simple, passive treatment with soil dispersal (commonly known as septic or onsite sewage systems), to more complex and mechanized approaches such as advanced treatment units. Treated effluent may be discharged either to surface water or subsurface by infiltration. Decentralized systems come in two varieties:
- Onsite systems are standalone systems serving a single building, generally on the same property, where wastewater treatment and disposal is provided
- Communal or shared systems, where some portion of the wastewater management system is connected to more than one lot.” – OOWA
Image collected from the Frontenac Municipal Services Corporation (FMSC)