Advanced Onsite Wastewater Treatment Saves Aquatic Life

When homeowners nestled in the beautiful Sierra Nevada Mountains just outside Bishop, California, wanted to add a few bedrooms to an elevated residential retreat, they needed to get approval from Mono County. With more rooms comes more people and more wastewater. The home is located adjacent to a year-round creek fed by snow runoff from the surrounding mountains. The county wanted to ensure everyone’s environment was protected.

The project required consistent production of highly treated effluent to protect the water quality of the nearby creek. To accommodate a successful outcome, the homeowner needed to add an extra septic tank to increase wastewater capacity. But that’s not all. Part of the appeal of this property is the nearby pond and creek that the California Department of Fish and Wildlife regularly stocks with rainbow trout. To keep both fish and humans happy, it’s imperative that the water in this area stays clean and pure.

Mono County is tasked with making sure.

Mono County requires advanced onsite wastewater treatment near sensitive waterways. In a standard septic system, the effluent leaving the tank contains high nitrogen levels. When nitrogen leaches into the groundwater, it can eventually reach nearby ponds and streams, triggering algae blooms and threatening aquatic life.

To prevent this adverse environmental impact, Mono County requires any new or upgraded septic systems near sensitive waterways to include an advanced treatment unit certified to NSF 245 standards, which mandates a minimum 50% reduction in nitrogen.

Jensen Infrastructure provided a comprehensive advanced treatment system tailored to meet the homeowner’s needs and ensure regulatory compliance, including two precast concrete tanks, an EZ Treat packed bed media filter, plus pumps and discharge assembly for the pressure distribution field.

The EZ Treat packed bed media filter was designed to produce consistent, high quality effluent. Certified to NSF 40, 245, and 350 standards, the system met Mono County’s requirements for highly treated effluent and nitrogen reduction.

The National Sanitation Foundation is an independent third party that rigorously tests products to ensure they meet the highest standards. Jensen’s Advanced Treatment System went through 26 consecutive weeks of NSF testing, during which system maintenance or process adjustments were not allowed.

Now, the Sierra Nevada homeowners have a proven onsite wastewater system that will keep the nearby pond fresh for fish and free of nasty algae blooms.

Check out the product, watch our webinar “Reaching NSF 245+ Standards and Synthetic Media Technology,” and request a quote at Jensen Advanced Treatment System.