What is the difference between septic and cesspool

You have three options to choose from; a cesspool , a septic tank and a sewage treatment plant. A cesspool is just a holding tank. It only has one pipe connection fitted and that is the inlet of the tank, which means that all the waste coming from the property is retained within the tank and there is no treatment of the waste. Over time the sewage will build up in the tank and it will need to be emptied by a sewage disposal tanker every other month or so depending on how big the cesspool is and how many people are using it.

A septic tank is a step up from a cesspool. Our online account system and mobile app make it easy for customers see detailed reporting and manage work orders. Both a septic tank and a cesspool are designed to receive and hold sewage, but what happens afterward is very different. In a septic tank, the wastewater travels to a leach field where it undergoes a filtration process. A cesspool lacks this feature, and the wastewater eventually contaminates the surrounding soil.

For this reason, cesspools are outdated and illegal in some areas. If you live in an older home with a cesspool, there are likely regulations mandating it be pumped and cleaned out on a regular basis.

Are you considering switching to a septic system? Like a septic tank, a cesspool is designed to hold sewage for a home. Cesspools, sometimes called leaching pools, are pits with concrete or cement walls. Cesspits looked like wells, as they were a circular brick chamber built about 2 metres deep in the ground, and acted like a soakaway. The logic behind the design of the cesspit was flawed, and the drains would eventually just back up.

So the Public Health Act prohibited the use of cesspits, and other drainage methods had to be used from then on, such as cesspools and septic tanks. After this cesspits and cesspools came to mean the same thing. A modern cesspool or cesspit is a watertight, fibreglass storage tank which holds sewage and is stored underground in a pit.

It does not have an outlet or carry out any treatment process, and the only piping is to release gases which accumulate in the tank. Cesspools require regular emptying by a licensed waste disposal company, which is why they are usually a temporary solution. The regularity of emptying differs depending on the size of the property, the size of the tank, and the number of occupants.