Study of Safe Separation Distances between Rural Wells and Neighbouring Soak-Away Systems

Abstract

It is becoming increasingly common for educated Nigerians to build houses in rural and semi-urban areas of the country. The plan of a typical modern house includes construction of a septic tank and soakaway for disposal of wastewaters. Very often, a well is dug on the same plot of land for supply of water in lieu of tap water supply.

The study reported in this paper shows that in a silty sand soil, the safe separation is about 14 meters,