ASSESSMENT OF INDIVIDUAL SEPTIC TANK EFFLUENT QUALITY IN

KOTA BHARU

HASRUL BIN MOHD ARIFIN

A project report submitted in partial fulfilment of the

requirements for the award of the degree of

Master of Engineering (Civil)

School of Civil Engineering

Faculty of Engineering

Universiti Teknologi Malaysia

SEPTEMBER 2020

iv

DEDICATION

I would like to dedicate this to my beloved mother and late father, Mek Nab Bt Deris

and Mohd Arifin Bin Awang, my lovely wife, Latifah bt Md Zain, my childrens,

Irfan Danish, Iman Danial, Izzul Darwish and Izzara Nuraisyah, my family, friends

and lecturers

Thanks for everything

v

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Praise to Allah, I am grateful to dear Allah for His Graciousness and blessings that I

finally managed to complete this research and project report after going through the

challenges and anticipations.

I wish to express my sincere appreciation to my supervisor Dr. Mohd Hafiz bin Puteh

for his encouragement, time, guidance and support from the beginning of my master

project until its completion.

Furthermore, I would like to extend my sincere appreciation to my beloved wife

Latifah Bt Md Zain, childrens Irfan Danish, Iman Danial, Izzul Darwish and Izzara

Nuraisyah, my parents, siblings and close friends whom always give support and

believe that I can finish my master degree.

Last but not least, thank you so much to anyone whom had helped me whether

directly or indirectly throughout the journey of completing this thesis and my master

degree

vi

ABSTRACT

Wastewater is water whose physical, chemical or biological properties have

been changed as a result of the introduction of certain substances which render it

unsafe for some purposes such as drinking. . Disposal of domestic sewage and

industrial effluents into the environment without proper treatment process is a major

contributor to deterioration in water quality. Currently, less than 10 percent of the 1.3

million individual septic tanks in Malaysia were emptied. All tanks should be

emptied every two years according to the size of the tank and the size of the

household to avoid polluting the environment and water sources.This study is

intended to identify the premises that carried out the desludging individual septic

tank, to check the quality of water effluent from desludged and non-desludged

individual septic tank according to the following parameters Biochemical Oxygen

Demand (BOD5), Total Suspended Solids (TSS) and Ammoniacal Nitrogen (NH3), to

compare the effluent quality from desludging and non-desludging septic tank and

also to discuss sustainability management and sewage treatment systems at Kota

Bharu, in addition to discussing problems and related issues. The total number of

desludged individual septic tank in Kota Bharu still low compared to total number of

septic tank. The percentage in 2017 is 2.1%, 2018 is 2.1% and 2019 is 2.2%. The

increment only 0.1% shows that the awareness of Kota Bharu residents is still low.

Based on the results of laboratory tests performed, the content of three parameters

tested from individual septic tanks that have emptied the tank, which is Biological

Oxygen Demand (BOD), Total Suspended Solid (TSS) and Ammoniacal Nitrogen

(NH3), it is found that the content of the content is below the standard level A and B

stated in environmental quality (sewage) regulation 2009 except Total Suspended

Solid (TSS) content. The content of Total Suspended Solid (TSS) for D-2 and D-3

premises is still below standard B, only the content for D-1 premises is quite high at

139 mg / L above standards A (50 mg / L) and B (100 mg / L). The Total Suspended

Solid (TSS) content in the D-1 premises is quite high as the owner of the permit

combines a sink and shower system with a toilet sewage system. Premises D-2 and

D-3 use separate systems. Overall, the effluent quality of desludged individual septic

tanks is better and safer for the environment.

vii

ABSTRAK

Air buangan adalah air yang sifat fizikal, kimia atau biologinya telah berubah

akibat pengenalan kepada bahan-bahan tertentu yang menjadikannya tidak selamat

untuk beberapa tujuan seperti minum. . Pada masa ini, kurang daripada 10 peratus

daripada 1.3 juta tangki septik individu di Malaysia dikosongkan. Semua tangki harus

dikosongkan setiap dua tahun mengikut ukuran tangki dan saiz isi rumah untuk

mengelakkan pencemaran alam sekitar dan sumber air. Kajian ini bertujuan untuk

mengenal pasti premis yang mengosongkan dan tidak mengosongan tangki septik

individu, untuk memeriksa kualiti efluen air dari kedua-dua tangki septik individu

bagi parameter berikut seperti Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD5), Jumlah Pepejal

Terampai (TSS) dan Ammoniacal Nitrogen (NH3), untuk membandingkan kualiti

efluen dari tangki septik yang dikongkan dan tidak dikosongkan dan juga untuk

membincangkan pengurusan kelestarian dan sistem rawatan kumbahan di Kota

Bharu, selain membincangkan masalah dan masalah yang berkaitan. Jumlah tangki

septik yang dikosongkan di Kota Bharu masih rendah berbanding dengan jumlah

tangki septik. Peratusan pada tahun 2017 adalah 2.1%, 2018 adalah 2.1% dan 2019

adalah 2.2%. Kenaikan hanya 0.1% menunjukkan bahawa kesedaran penduduk Kota

Bharu masih rendah. Berdasarkan hasil ujian makmal yang dilakukan, kandungan

tiga parameter yang diuji dari tangki septik individu yang telah dikosongkan, iaitu

Biological Oksigen Demand (BOD), Pepejal Terampai (TSS) dan Nitrogen Amonia

(NH3), didapati bahawa kandungan berada di bawah paras standard A dan B yang

dinyatakan dalam peraturan kualiti alam sekitar (kumbahan) 2009 kecuali kandungan

pepejal terampai (TSS). Kandungan Pepejal Terampai (TSS) untuk premis D-2 dan

D-3 masih di bawah standard B, hanya kandungan untuk premis D-1 agak tinggi iaitu

139 mg / L di atas standard A (50 mg / L) dan B (100 mg / L). Kandungan Pepejal

Terampai (TSS) di premis D-1 tinggi kerana pemilik premis menggabungkan sistem

sink dan pancuran dengan sistem kumbahan tandas. Premis D-2 dan D-3

menggunakan sistem yang berasingan. Kualiti efluen tangki septik individu yang

dikosongkan lebih baik dan lebih selamat untuk alam sekitar.

viii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITLE PAGE

DECLARATION iii

DEDICATION iv

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT v

ABSTRACT vi

ABSTRAK vii

TABLE OF CONTENTS viii

LIST OF TABLES xi

LIST OF FIGURES xiii

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS xv

LIST OF SYMBOLS xvi

LIST OF APPENDICES xvii

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Background of study 1

1.2 Problem Statement 2

1.3 Objective 3

1.4 Scope of Study 3

CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 5

2.1 Septic tank 5

2.1.1 Individual Septic Tank (IST) 5

2.2 Sewerage Treatment Plan (STP) 8

2.2.1 Imhoff Tank (IT) 9

2.3 Scenario in Malaysia 11

2.4 Effluent Discharge Standards and Requirements in

Malaysia 12

2.4.1 Acceptable Condition of Sewage Discharge

of Standard A and B 14

ix

2.5 Residential Septic Tank Waste Strength 16

2.5.1 pH 17

2.5.2 Carbonaceous Biochemical Oxygen

Demand (CBOD5) 18

2.5.3 Total Suspended Solid (TSS) 19

2.5.4 Fats, Oil and Grease (FOG) 20

2.5.5 Ammoniacal Nitrogen (NH3) 20

2.6 Wastewater 23

2.6.1 Types of Wastewater 24

2.6.2 Domestic wastewater 24

2.6.3 Characteristic of wastewater 25

CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY 29

3.1 Introduction 29

3.2 Data Collection, Selecting Location and Collecting

Sample 31

3.3 Data Analysis 35

CHAPTER 4 RESULT AND DISSCUSSION 37

4.1 Introduction 37

4.2 Desludged individual septic tank 39

4.3 Effluent quality from desludged and non-desludged

individual septic tank 43

4.4 Comparison of Effluent Quality 45

4.4.1 Comparison quality of effluent between

desludged individual septic tank with 3

Sewerage Treatment Plant (STP) in Kota

Bharu 45

4.4.2 Comparison quality of effluent between

desludged individual septic tank with

Standard A and Standard B 50

4.4.3 Comparison quality of effluent between

desludged individual septic tank with

previous study 53

x

CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION 57

5.1 Conclusion 57

5.2 Recommendation 58

REFERENCES 59

APPENDICES 63

xi

LIST OF TABLES

TABLE NO. TITLE PAGE

Table 2.1 The total number of public sewage treatment plant

in Malaysia as at Oct 2014 (IWK, 2019) 9

Table 2.2 The typical figures for imhoff tank (Raw sewage,

effluent and standard B) 10

Table 2.3 8th

Schedule. Effluent Discharge Standards to

Malaysian Inland Waters 13

Table 2.4 Acceptable Condition of Sewage Discharge for

New Sewage Treatment System 14

Table 2.5 The acceptable conditions for sewage discharge

according to standard A and B 15

Table 2.6 The acceptable conditions for sewage discharge

according to standard A and B beginning January

1999 and up to the date 15

Table 2.7 Septic tank effluent concentration with and without

filter. (Crites and Tchobanoglous, 1998; Stuth,

2004). 16

Table 2.8 Ranges concentration for domestic and restaurant

effluent. (Siegrist et al. 1984) 17

Table 2.9 An approximate composition of medium strength

domestic wastewater in terms of Nitrogen and its

constituents. 21

Table 2.10 Average Ammoniacal Nitrogen content for

standard A and B 22

Table 2.11 Components present in domestic wastewater

(Henze and Ledin; 2001) 25

Table 2.12 Different parameters in domestic wastewater

(Henze and Ledin, 2001) 27

Table 3.1 Coordinate location of desludged and non-

desludged individual septic tank 32

Table 3.2 Contents of BOD, TSS and NH3 for Standard A

and B 35

Table 4.1 Parameters obtained and numbers of sampling of

individual septic tank 37

xii

Table 4.2 History of premises that sample was carried out to

do laboratory testing 38

Table 4.3 Estimated premises/ housing in Kelantan and Kota

Bharu area from 2017 to 2019 39

Table 4.4 Total number of individual septic tank in Kota

Bharu 40

Table 4.5 Total number and percentage of desludging

Individual Septic Tank in Kota Bharu compared to

desludging individual septic tank in Kelantan. 40

Table 4.6 The total number and percentage of desludged

Individual Septic Tank in Kota Bharu compared to

total individual septic tank. 42

Table 4.7 Result of laboratory test for Biological Oxygen

Demand (BOD5), Total Suspended Solid (TSS) and

Ammoniacal Nitrogen (NH3) in every individual

septic tank 43

Table 4.8 Comparison of BOD5, TSS and NH3 between

desludged individual septic tank and STP 1-

Taman Desa Darul Naim. 46

Table 4.9 Comparison of BOD5, TSS and NH3 between

desludged individual septic tank and STP 2-

Taman Desa Kemumin 47

Table 4.10 Comparison of BOD5, TSS and NH3 between

desludged individual septic tank and STP 3- PPR

Kota Bharu 48

Table 4.11 Comparisons in BOD5, TSS and NH3 content

between desludged individual septic tanks with

standards A and B (Environmental Quality

(sewage) Regulation 2009) 50

Table 4.12 Comparisons in BOD5, TSS and NH3 content

between non-desludgedindividual septic tanks with

standards A and B (Environmental Quality

(sewage) Regulation 2009) 52

Table 4.13 Comparison between desludged individual septic

tank effluent in Kota Bharu with effluent value at

Burnett, Washington 53

Table 4.14 Comparison between desludged individual septic

tank effluent in Kota Bharu with effluent value at

La Pine, Oregon 54

xiii

LIST OF FIGURES

FIGURE NO. TITLE PAGE

Figure 2.1 A typical individual septic tank built according to

Malaysian Standards (MS 1228) (IWK) 5

Figure 2.2 Non-desludged, desludged and after desludging

septic tank (IWK,2019) 7

Figure 2.3 Plan (top view) and side view of imhoff tank (IWK,

2019) 10

Figure 2.4 The naked eye cannot see the bacteria contained in

raw sewage that is released into the waterways. 12

Figure 2.5 Individual septic tanks should be cleared once

every two years to prevent sludge accumulating

inside them 12

Figure 2.6 Types of Wastewater 24

Figure 2.7 Physical Characteristics of wastewater 26

Figure 3.1 Research Methodology chart 30

Figure 3.2 Map of desludged individual septic tank 33

Figure 3.3 Map of non desludged individual septic tank 34

Figure 4.1 Percentage of desludged individual septic tank in

Kota Bharu compared to others district in 2017 41

Figure 4.2 Percentage of desludged individual septic tank in

Kota Bharu compared to others district in 2018 41

Figure 4.3 Percentage of desludged individual septic tank in

Kota Bharu compared to others district in 2019 42

Figure 4.4 The content of Biological Oxygen Demand

(BOD5), Total Suspended Solid (TSS) and

Ammoniacal Nitrogen (NH3) in desludged

individual septic tank 44

Figure 4.5 The content of Biological Oxygen Demand

(BOD5), Total Suspended Solid (TSS) and

Ammoniacal Nitrogen (NH3) in desludged

individual septic tank 44

Figure 4.6 Comparison of BOD5, TSS and NH3 between

desludged individual septic tank and STP 1- Taman

Desa Darul Naim 47

xiv

Figure 4.7 Comparison of BOD5, TSS and NH3 between

desludged individual septic tank and STP 2- Taman

Desa Kemumin 48

Figure 4.8 Comparison of BOD5, TSS and NH3 between

desludged individual septic tank and STP 3- PPR

Kota Bharu 49

Figure 4.9 Comparisons in BOD5, TSS and NH3 content

between desludged individual septic tanks with

standards A and B (Environmental Quality

(sewage) Regulation 2009) 51

Figure 4.10 Comparisons in BOD5, TSS and NH3 content

between non-desludged individual septic tanks

with standards A and B (Environmental Quality

(sewage) Regulation 2009) 52

Figure 4.11 Comparison between desludged individual septic

tank effluent in Kota Bharu with effluent value at

Burnett, Washington 54

Figure 4.12 Comparison between desludged individual septic

tank effluent in Kota Bharu with effluent value at

La Pine, Oregon 55

xv

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

UTM

IWK

WICAM

BOD

COD

TSS

NH3

MS

D

ND

IST

IT

STP

WSIA

EA ODC

RBCSBR

PE

DOE

EQA

FOG

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

Universiti Teknologi Malaysia

Indah Water Konsortium

Water and Energy Consumer Association of Malaysia

Biological Oxygen Demand

Chemical Oxygen Demand

Total Suspended Solid

Ammoniacal Nitrogen

Malaysia Standard

Desludged

Non-desludged

Individual Septic Tank

Imhoff Tank

Sewerage Treatment Plant

Water Services Industry Act Peroxide Carbon dioxide

Extended Aeration itro

Oxidation Ditch

Rotating Biological Contactors

Sequenced Batch Reactors s oxide

Population Equivalent unicipal

Department of Environment s Environmental Quality Act

Fat, Oil & Greasewaste Teragram

Intergovernmental panel on climate change Degradable organic

carbon

Reciprocating internal combustion engines

1

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of study

Wastewater is water whose physical, chemical or biological properties have

been changed as a result of the introduction of certain substances which render it

unsafe for some purposes such as drinking. The day to day activities of man is

mainly water dependent and therefore discharge „waste‟ into water. Some of the

substances include body wastes (faeces and urine), hair shampoo, hair, food scraps,

fat, laundry powder, fabric conditioners, toilet paper, chemicals, detergent, household

cleaners, dirt, micro-organisms (germs) which can make people ill and damage the

environment. It is known that much of water supplied ends up as wastewater which

makes its treatment very important. Wastewater treatment is the process and

technology that is used to remove most of the contaminants that are found in

wastewater to ensure a sound environment and good public health. Wastewater

Management therefore means handling wastewater to protect the environment to

ensure public health, economic, social and political soundness (Metcalf and Eddy,

1991).

As a general rule, septic tank should ideally empty once every three to five

years. However, the actual frequency will vary depending on usage and how many

people live in household. The septic tank may need to pump out more frequently in

larger households, for instance, while a single person living alone in a house may be

able to go ten years without having the tank pumped out but a family of seven might

have to pump every two years. Occasionally pumping out the septic tank is essential

for its reliable operation. A septic tank that isn't working can pose problems for any

household, such as sewage backing up into household drains or sewage bubbling up

from the ground around the septic tank and lateral field. The quality of the effluent

from the septic tank may be harm to the human being and environment.

2

Without scheduled desludging, untreated sewage and sludge solids will be

released into rivers. This will cause depletion of dissolved oxygen in these rivers,

resulting in the death of aquatic life. The large quantities of sludge that settle to the

bottom of rivers will also kill off any aquatic plants that contribute oxygen to the

rivers. This will cause our rivers to eventually 'die'. In addition, untreated sewage

also poses a threat to public health since it may contain pathogenic bacteria and

viruses that cause deadly diseases such as cholera, typhoid and hepatitis A. All septic

tanks need to be desludged on a regular basis that is once in two years.

1.2 Problem Statement

Septic tanks are an important part of some residential sewage systems. These

tanks are usually constructed from concrete or plastic and collect sewage and

wastewater from the house. Septic tanks are usually installed where municipal sewer

lines are not available, which means they most often serve rural homeowners or

homes that were built before city sewer lines were laid in the area. The level of

awareness among the public in the country to clear septic tanks is still low. Currently,

less than 10 percent of the 1.3 million individual septic tanks in Malaysia were

emptied (IWK, 2019). All tanks should be emptied every two years according to the

size of the tank and the size of the household to avoid polluting the environment and

water sources. Pursuant to the Water Services Industry Act 2006 (Act 655) under

Section 65 (1) (c), it states that the owner of an individual septic tank is required to

clear and maintain the septic tank. The quality of effluent from septic tank may be

harm to human being and environment.

59

REFERENCES

Ajay Kumar Mishra Smart Materials for Waste Water Applications ,Wiley-Scrivener

2016 ISBN 111904118X https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/book/10.1002/97

81119041214

Andersson, K., Rosemarin, A., Lamizana, B., Kvarnström, E., McConville, J., Seidu,

R., Dickin, S. and Trimmer, C. (2016). Sanitation, Wastewater Management

and Sustainability: from Waste Disposal to Resource Recovery Archived 1

June 2017 at the Wayback Machine. Nairobi and Stockholm: United Nations

Environment Programme and Stockholm Environment Institute. ISBN 978-

92-807-3488-1, p. 56

Avvannavar SM, Shrihari S (2007) Evaluation of water quality index fordrinking

purposes for river

Bounds, T.R. 1997. Design and Performance of Septic Tanks. Site Characterization

and Design of On-Site

Bounds, T.R. 2001. Management of Decentralized and Onsite Wastewater Systems.

On-Site Wastewater treatment: Proceedings of the Ninth National

Symposium On Individual and Small Community Sewage Systems. American

Society of Agricultural Engineers (ASAE), St. Joseph, MI. p. 435-450.

Brake, P. 1998. Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) and Carbonaceous BOD

(CBOD) in Water and Wastewater. WA State Department of Ecology,

Publication No. 98-307. pp. 28.

Brake, P. 1998. Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) and Carbonaceous BOD

(CBOD) in Water and Wastewater. WA State Department of Ecology,

Publication No. 98-307. pp. 28.

Canter, L.W. and R.C. Know. 1985. Septic Tank Systems: Effect on Ground Water

Quality. Lewis Publishers,Chelsea, MI. pp. 336.

Canter, L.W. and R.C. Know. 1985. Septic Tank Systems: Effect on Ground Water

Quality. Lewis Publishers,Chelsea, MI. pp. 336.

Cole JA (1998) Water resources: Introduction. In: Herchy RW, RW Fairbridge (eds)

Encyclopedia of hydrology and water resources. Kluwer Academic

Publishers, Dordrecht.

60

Corcoran, E., C. Nellemann, E. Baker, R. Bos, D. Osborn, H. Savelli, eds.

(2010). Sick water? The central role of wastewater management in

sustainable development. A rapid response assessment (PDF). Arendal,

Norway: UNEP/GRID-Arendal. ISBN 978-82-7701-075-5. Archived

from the original (PDF) on 2015-12-18.

Davis AP, McCuen RH (2005) Storm water management for smart growth. Edisi

Pertama. Springer Science and Business Media.

Environmental Quality (Sewage) Regulations 2009.

Field R, O‟shea ML, Brown MP (1993) The detection and disinfection of pathogens

in storm-generated flows. Wat. Sci. Tech. 28, 311-315.

Hunter, J.V. and H. Heukelakian. 1965. The Composition of Domestic Sewage

Fractions, J. Water Pol. Control Fed. 37:1142:1163.

Indah Water Official Portal (t.t). Sewage Facts. Available from:

http://www.iwk.com.my/v/knowledgearena/ammonia,

https://www.iwk.com.my/customer/individual-septic-tank

Jabatan Alam Sekitar Malaysia (2012) Malaysia Environmental Quality Report.

Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. Available from:

http://enviro.doe.gov.my/view.php?id=558.

Jabatan Pengairan dan Saliran Malaysia (2009) Study on the river water quality

trends and indexes in Peninsular Malaysia. Water Resources Publication, No.

2.

Jain SK, Singh VP (2003) Water resource systems planning and management.

Development in water science. Edisi Pertama. Elsevier Science.

Malaysian Sewerage Industry Guidelines Volume 5

Metcalf & Eddy Inc. (1989) Wastewater Engineering: Water, Treatment and

Disposal. Edisi ketiga. New York: McGraw-Hill

Metcalf & Eddy, Inc. (2003). Wastewater Engineering: Treatment and Reuse (4th

ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill. ISBN 0-07-112250-8.

Primer for Municipal Waste water Treatment Systems (Report). Washington, DC:

US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). 2004. EPA 832-R-04-001..

Septic Systems, ASTM STP 1324, M.S. Bedinger, J.S. Fleming, and A.I. Johnson,

Eds. American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM). P. 217-234.

Septic Systems, ASTM STP 1324, M.S. Bedinger, J.S. Fleming, and A.I. Johnson,

Eds. American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM). P. 217-234.

61

Water and Energy Consumer Association of Malaysia (WECAM). Available at

http://www.wecam.org.my/v2/index.php?option=com_content&view=article

&id=59:kenapa-perlu-kosongkan-tangki-septik&catid=35:wecam-in-the-

news-2016&Itemid=63

World Health Organization (2006). Guidelines for the safe use of wastewater,

excreta, and greywater. World Health Organization. p. 31. ISBN 978-

9241546850. OCLC 71253096.

63

APPENDICES

Appendix A Suplimentary figures

Figure A1: Selecting Location and Collecting Sample

64

Appendix B Desludged and Blokage of Individual Septic Tank Report 2017

Table B1: Desludged and Blokage of Individual Septic Tank Report 2017

TRIP BY

LOCATION/DISTRICT

MONTH

Jan Feb Mac April May June July Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec TOTAL

MPKB-BANDARAYA

ISLAM 124 184 238 165 232 165 256 200 205 279 188 119 2355

MP-TUMPAT 32 29 24 23 36 36 44 38 32 40 27 23 384

MP-PASIR MAS 15 18 21 13 24 17 32 22 22 16 15 14 229

MP-GUA MUSANG 6 4 0 21 5 1 5 8 32 8 7 12 109

MP-PASIR PUTEH 10 8 14 9 35 13 17 12 10 14 7 15 164

MP-BACHOK 14 13 15 11 15 10 21 23 10 12 17 13 174

MP-JELI 1 1 3 0 1 1 3 4 3 5 0 0 22

MP-TANAH MERAH 11 4 7 0 8 9 5 6 3 15 1 2 71

MP-KETEREH 2 13 16 9 11 9 13 13 7 8 7 7 115

MP-KUALA KRAI 7 2 7 0 5 4 6 11 5 7 1 4 59

MP-MACHANG 14 12 8 13 16 10 16 14 3 15 8 7 136

MP-DABONG 3 2 0 5

SUB TOTAL TRIP

3,823