Wastewater Glossary
Filters
- floor space of no less than 70 square feet;
- for new construction, a ceiling height of no less than seven feet three inches;
- for existing houses and for mobile homes, a ceiling height of no less than seven feet zero inches;
- an electrical service and ventilation; and
- at least one window.
Acetaminophen
No definition listed; click for more information and reference material.
Acre
a unit of land measure equal to 40,000 square feet which is considered a building acre in accordance with standard real estate practices.
Activated Sludge Process
Wastewater treatment process that uses activated sludge to biologically convert non-settleable (suspended, dissolved, and colloidal) organic materials to a settleable product using aerobic and facultative microorganisms; typically followed by clarification and sludge return.
Aerobic Treatment Unit
No definition listed; click for more information and reference material.
Agency
an agency, department, board, commission or authority of the Commonwealth or of the federal government and any authority of any political subdivision, which is specifically created as an authority under special or general law. The term shall not include housing authorities permitted pursuant to M.G.L. c. 40A.
Alternative Systems
Systems designed to provide or enhance on site sewage disposal which either do not contain all of the components of an on site disposal system constructed in accordance with 310 CMR 15.100 through 15.255 or which contain components in addition to those specified in 310 CMR 15.100 through 15.255 and which are proposed to the Local Approving Authority and/or the Department, or an agent authorized by the Department, for remedial, pilot, provisional, or general use approval pursuant to 310 CMR 15.280 through 15.289.
Attached-Growth Process
Configuration wherein the microorganisms responsible for treatment colonize a fixed medium
Azithromycin
Azithromycin is an antibiotic useful for the treatment of a number of bacterial infections.This includes middle ear infections, strep throat, pneumonia, traveler’s diarrhea, and certain other intestinal infections. It may also be used for a number of sexually transmitted infections including chlamydia and gonorrhea infections. Along with other medications, it may also be used for malaria. It can be taken by mouth or intravenously with doses once per day.
Bedroom
A room providing privacy, intended primarily for sleeping and consisting of all of the following:
Living rooms, dining rooms, kitchens, halls, bathrooms, unfinished cellars and unheated storage areas over garages are not considered bedrooms. Single family dwellings shall bepresumed to have at least three bedrooms. Where the total number of rooms for single family
dwellings exceeds eight, not including bathrooms, hallways, unfinished cellars and unheated storage areas, the number of bedrooms presumed shall be calculated by dividing the total number
of rooms by two then rounding down to the next lowest whole number. The applicant may design a system using design flows for a smaller number of bedrooms than are presumed in this definition by granting to the Approving Authority a deed restriction limiting the number of bedrooms to the smaller number.
Blackwater
Portion of the wastewater stream that originates from toilet fixtures,dishwashers, and food preparation sinks
Bottomless Media Filter
Media filter that does not incorporate a liner or other physical barrier between the media and the existing soil on which it has been placed; used as a final treatment and dispersal component.
Certified System
An alternative system which has been approved by the Department for specified uses or site conditions pursuant to 310 CMR 15.288. Systems which have been certified may be approved for use by approving authorities without further Departmental review but subject to any limitations on their use imposed by the Department pursuant to 310 CMR 15.000.
Chemical Toilet
Waterless toilet with a tank that contains a chemical to limit
decomposition of non-water-carried human waste during storage prior to offsite treatment.
Composting Toilet
Self-contained waterless toilet designed to decompose nonwater-carried human wastes through microbial action on a carbon source and store the resulting matter for further treatment and reuse/disposal.
Design Flow
The quantity of sanitary sewage, expressed in gallons per day (gpd), for which a system must be designed in accordance with 310 CMR 15.203.
Drip Field
Above or below grade soil treatment area where final treatment and
dispersal occurs via application of effluent to the infiltrative surface via pressurized drip tubing utilizing emitters;
Effluent Screen
Removable, cleanable (or disposable) device installed on the outlet piping of a septic tank for the purpose of retaining solids larger than a specific size and/or modulating effluent flow rate.
Evapotranspiration/adsorption (ETA) bed
Dispersal component with an unlined bed using evaporation, transpiration, and adsorption for dispersal of effluent with an
unlined bed; sometimes called an evapotranspiration/infiltration (ETI) bed.
Foam Filter
Media filter that utilizes an open-cell polyurethane foam material that is randomly arranged in prefabricated modular units.
Leachfield
an area of land in which wastewater seeps through layers of soil and by doing so undergoes natural biological decontamination
Membrane Bioreactor
No definition listed; click for more information and reference material.
Peat Filter
Media filter that uses appropriate organic fibric material (peat) as the media; typically packaged as pre-fabricated modular units with the media in a container; a type of biofilter.
Pharmaceuticals
No definition listed; click for more information and reference material.
Sand Filter
Media filter which uses sand of particular specifications as the media.
Sequencing Batch Reactor
Component in which batch type suspended-growth
(activated sludge) processes are carried out in the same tank in stepwise order (e.g. fill, treat, settle, decant, and draw).
Suspended-Growth Process
Configuration wherein the microorganisms responsible for treatment are maintained in suspension within a liquid.
Textile Filter
Type of media filter which uses non-rigid, synthetic material of varying shapes and configurations; typically packaged as pre-fabricated modular units.
Trickling Filter
Type of media filter which uses a variety of media such as rigid plastics of varying shapes, stone, or tire chips; includes a clarifier in its configuration and may include a recirculation mode.
Upflow Filter
Media filter through which wastewater flows from a lower to a higher elevation; usually characterized by an anaerobic environment.
Urine Diverting Toilet
No definition listed; click for more information and reference material.
Zone I
The protective radius required around a public water supply well or wellfield, as defined in Massachusetts Drinking Water Regulations, 310 CMR 22.02: Definitions. For public water supply system wells with approved yields of 100,000 gpd or greater, the protective radius is 400 feet. Tubular well fields require a 250-foot protective radius. Protective radii for all other public water system wells are determined by the following equation: Zone I radius in feet = [150 x log of pumping rate in gpd] – 350.
Zone II
That area of an aquifer which contributes water to a well under the most severe pumping and recharge conditions that can realistically be anticipated, as defined in Massachusetts Drinking Water Regulations, 310 CMR 22.02: Definitions.