SINCE 1828
septic tank
nounDefinition of septic tank
: a tank in which the solid matter of continuously flowing sewage is disintegrated by bacteria
Examples of septic tank in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
City officials said the project is necessary because, according to the Cuyahoga County Board of Health, many septic tanks on these streets were failing. — Bob Sandrick, cleveland.com, "Cost of Strongsville sanitary sewer project rises by 24 percent," 30 Apr. 2018 The septic tank must be installed to meet the code of the state Department of Health. — Sarah Fowler, The Seattle Times, "$10K donated to woman living in poverty, collapsing home," 19 Jan. 2018 The bacteria is frequently found in fecal matter; high rains in the region lately have carried waste upstream from septic tanks and treatment centers and dumped it into the Gulf, KHOU-TV reports. — Megan Friedman, Country Living, "The Scary Reason You May Want to Avoid the Ocean This Summer," 24 June 2015 Over the years, the lake also filled up with nutrients, mostly from farm and ranch run-off in the beginning, but now the polluted inflow includes a mix of urban stormwater and pollution from leaky septic tanks. — Jenny Staletovich, miamiherald, "Massive and toxic algae bloom threatens Florida coasts with another lost summer," 29 June 2018 Moving around the nutrient-dense lake water, fouled by runoff from septic tanks, ranches and sugar farms, is something like a game of hot potato. — Alex Harris, miamiherald, "Army Corps can’t promise 2016’s algae blooms won’t return, but this strategy may help," 12 July 2018 Water was an issue even then, so between the water pump and the septic tank, occasional plumbing issues arose. — Shelby Grad, latimes.com, "Essential California: Why the heat left so many powerless in L.A.," 10 July 2018 Also the use of septic tanks for sewage poses a watershed threat. — Lara Korte, WSJ, "Developers Go With the Flow as New Water Rules Kick In," 10 July 2018 Condoms Condoms are also not designed to break down in water, so flushing them can cause clogs in toilets and septic tanks, according to Agugliaro. — Brittney Morgan, House Beautiful, "16 Things You Should Never Flush Down The Toilet," 29 June 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'septic tank.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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