Practitioner's Tool / Land Use of Surrounding Lots

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The land use activities on neighboring parcels may have an impact upon the types of wastewater treatment equipment appropriate for a given project. Proximity to residential housing, for example, will determine the level of odor and noise control required. For best onsite wastewater treatment systems implementation, it is important to know about the land use patterns neighboring the system for the following

  1. At some time in the future, neighboring developments may be able to connect to your project, which could provide additional revenue from fees. Knowing this in advance can help you plan for future expansion.
  2. Neighboring land use may impact your technology decisions. For example, if there is a subdivision neighboring your onsite wastewater treatment systems project, wastewater treatment technologies that generate odors, such as sewage lagoons, should be avoided.
  3. You may learn about other proposed onsite wastewater systems projects that your development may connect to now or some time in the future.

Planning and engineering offices at local governments are good places to start to investigate land use in your area. Zoning and land use maps may be available, which could provide valuable inputs to your planning efforts.

For more information, review the article linked below. It is related to onsite wastewater treatment systems practices in the United States, but there is information that pertains to wastewater management in developing areas.

Decentralized Wastewater Management: Linking Land Use, Planning & Environmental Protection by Southern Water and Soil, Inc.: DecentralizedWastewaterManagement.pdf FILE NEEDED

You have completed the site evaluation process, and you should now know the lay of the site you will be working on. You can now proceed to the Tool Comparison Toolkit for the last phase of your project planning. This will help you work through the best tools you need to carry out your project.