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
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Before she was rescued Wednesday, Cottis had spent days sitting in her wheelchair and the nights sleeping in a metal lawn lounger surrounded by wet belongings and sewage after the septic tank overflowed with floodwaters. — Michael Weissenstein, BostonGlobe.com, "‘Like zombies’: Hurricane’s victims face heartbreak and loss," 5 Sep. 2019 Before she was rescued Wednesday, Cottis had spent days sitting in her wheelchair and the nights sleeping in a metal lawn lounger surrounded by wet belongings and sewage after the septic tank overflowed with floodwaters. — Michael Weissenstein, Anchorage Daily News, "‘Like zombies’: Victims of Bahamas hurricane confront massive scale of disaster," 5 Sep. 2019 Do better, too, by funding the purchase of septic tanks for Black Belt residents whose inhuman sewage conditions garnered there-goes-Alabama-again headlines nationwide. — Roy S. Johnson | Rjohnson@al.com, al, "Johnson: Keep the apology, governor, just do better for black Alabamians," 3 Sep. 2019 Fertilizer and septic tank run-off might make the water less habitable for cusk eels, and the population might be dwindling. — Rebecca Asoulin, The Christian Science Monitor, "Wait, fish make noise? Meet the ‘fish listeners.’ (audio)," 29 Aug. 2019 The septic tank's lid was only an inch underground. — Morgan Hines, USA TODAY, "Lightning hit a septic tank. A toilet exploded. 'A first in plumbing history'," 6 Aug. 2019 Smoke was also seen outside originating from the septic tank. — Matthew Cappucci, chicagotribune.com, "Toilet explodes during Florida thunderstorm," 12 Aug. 2019 The fourth, Jefferson Township, has only septic tanks, but requires them to be pumped out yearly. — Anne Barnard, New York Times, "Algae Bloom Fouls N.J.’s Largest Lake, Indicating Broader Crisis," 5 Aug. 2019 Leaky septic tanks and deadend canals have long been blamed for driving up nitrogen levels in water around the Keys. — Jenny Staletovich, sun-sentinel.com, "New Study Says Everglades Water Is Harming Keys Corals. Not Everyone Agrees.," 28 July 2019These 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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