Alternative On-Site Sewage Treatment System Demonstration Site at Charlottenburg Park South Glengarr

The Raisin River Conservation Authority (RRCA), in partnership with the Township of South Glengarry, will perform a field test to study alternative on-site sewage treatment systems to treat approximately 50 percent of the sewage flow from the Charlottenburgh Park campground’s existing washroom/shower building. The field test will compare the treatment performance of a conventional leaching field system and a hybrid-constructed wetland system for the disposal of septic tank effluent, where recycled tire shreds will be used as an alternative filter medium instead of sand or gravel. Both systems will be operated in parallel under controlled conditions. Beside a control bed, the conventional sand absorption system’s experimental design configurations will allow for the investigation of tire shreds, along with passive air transfer and/or a permeable reactive barrier, which have all been successfully implemented in other waste disposal projects. The constructed wetland’s experimental configurations will allow for the investigation of tire shreds or coarse gravel (control) as the porous media with slag and peat filters. The study seeks to establish their effectiveness as rural on-site wastewater treatment. If the field test is successful, a full-scale septage treatment system, using the most effective technology, would be implemented to treat the sewage from other park areas. This would improve water quality, protect groundwater resources and reduce water consumption. In addition, it would advance best practices beyond current federal and provincial regulations by providing an application of new technology that combines wastewater treatment and solid waste management through its added potential for increasing waste tire diversion.