The Past 100 Years and Future of Onsite Resource Water.

The history of effluent treatment on-site prior to the 1950s provides an interesting window into what could work and what might be sustainable for individual homes and small communities into the future. In 1894, George E. Waring, Jr. stated, "It has hitherto been – and, in fact, still is – the practice of the world to consider its wastes satisfactorily disposed of when they are hidden from sight. In spite of an almost universal outcry about sewer-gas, filth diseases and infective germs, the great mass, even those who join in the cry, pay little heed to defects in the conditions under which they are living so long as they are not reminded by their eyes or their noses that their offscourings are still lurking near them." Early references show much thought and consideration about flow control, filtration, aerobic treatment, shallow soil dispersal, various loading rates, high strength waste treatment and maintenance. The relationship between disease-causing organisms and proper handling of sewage were understood and will be explored. Furthermore, infrastructure independence and sustainable practices, such as water and nutrient recycling, will be discussed.