I just added a blog post about the conditional permit we received to install this as an experimental septic system on our new house build in a very rural off grid property. It's at our blog BrownKawa.com

It is mainly introducing the concept and the fact that we got a permit; build info and photos will come in a later blog post.

To support others looking to go this route, I recommend googling "peer reviewed research vermifilter" and then follow up by finding references from the bibliographies of the articles you find there. Our permit took 2 years and lots of persistence, patience, and politeness!

Thanks,

Mike

My husband and I are building a house in NW New Mexico. It is the first fully permitted house in New Mexico using recycled tire bales as building blocks. Now we are hoping it might one day have a permit to allow a vermicomposting septic!  I am cautiously hopeful, since New Mexico has some building code more generous than many other states in the US:  The state has no jurisdiction over our incoming water, which we plan to collect as rainwater catchment. We have privies included as a "standard treatment system." We have a good greywater code that doesn't require a permit, although you must follow greywater code and have a mechanism for switching greywater to the main (blackwater) sewage treatment system.  We have a board that is designed to review experimental septic systems. So I am trying to get my ducks in a row to figure out how to get a vermicomposting system permitted for our home.

We are dual plumbing our home for greywater. Our laundry and utility room will drain out back to an infiltration bed downhill in the back yard (switchable to the main septic stack). Our kitchen will be plumbed as blackwater, per state code. Our bathroom will be at the front of the house, with sink, shower, and tub each switchable to drain either into greenhouse planters, or to the main septic stack. The toilet tank will be filled through a Japanese style tank-top sink, and will flush into the main septic stack.

One requirement complicating things is that implementing a greywater system does NOT decrease the septic processing capacity required by code. In our case that means we need to handle 300 gallons per day for a one-bedroom house. If we were installing a conventional septic tank we would be required to install a 750 gallon tank.  I have no doubt that your vermicomposting system as designed would easily handle our processing needs, but I will need to demonstrate that the system we build could handle 300 gallons of blackwater per day (>5 times what we anticipate using for both greywater and blackwater).

I am thinking if pushed to the wall we could install two IBC totes with a switch valved to let the sewage go to one or the other or both, but it seems wasteful and unnecessary. 

Here are my questions:

1. I see that there are some systems mentioned on this site that were retrofitted to use vermicomposting for all water. The project at Pai das Donas seems like a great case study for me to reference, since it is handling greywater and blackwater for a 2-person residence, like ours. I see the "before" statistics on bacterial measures in that article, and it mentions that testing would be done again -- has that testing been done? Is there any chance the artiucle will be updated with the later data?
2. The Pai das Donas article also mentions the initial problems with the tank, and the apparent nitrogen leaching, and the solution and better success four months in. That was back in 2017. Is it possible that the article will be updated to note the performance of the system since then?
3. Is there any data you know of for any of these systems that has a good estimate of the amount of water processed?
4. Does anyone know where the Solviva data went, and if it still lives online anywhere?
5. Question for anyone and everyone -- does anyone have any support materials you've used to get vermicomposting septic approved in your jurisdiction? I do have many of the research articles on here and have seen this question elsewhere, but not in the last few years, so I'm hoping someone has made some progress -- especially if anyone knows of any of these systems approved by any jurisdiction in the US

Thanks again everyone for being open to this kind of thinking.

FYI, if interested -- our system will be built in a high desert area with lots of sun but also freezing temperatures in winter.  Minimum temps in the 0 degree F range, max temps in the high 90s F. We will sink the IBC tote a foot or so below ground level (on a slope, so maybe 1-2' below level at the input and close to ground level at the front. We plan to enclose it with an earthbag structure with scoria fill for insulation and covered in earthen plaster, possibly with some sort of insulation between the walls of the structure and sides of the tank.  We will install a metal roof. The tank will be downslope from the house, and the infiltration bed will be downslope from the tank.

Best to everyone!

First off, thanks for the bunch of work and research you've done on the topic, as well your sharing and openness - I really appreciate it !

At the moment I'm living a more 'regular' contemporary life in Amsterdam together with my wife, but we're looking into chasing our dream of a simpler life in partnership with nature, in Portugal. We have our eye on a piece of land not too far from Porto, but it is urban land, and we would normally be connected to the grid (the infrastructure is there). I don't know if, in this case, the municipality would let us choose an alternative way to deal with our 'waste', but I'd really like to try. As the plot of land is about 3,5 hectare, we shouldn't cause any nuisance to neighbours even IF the system would produce some smell for a bit.

Basically, my question is this: did you build a case / documentation in writing which you presented to the municipality, and if so, would you mind sharing this documentation with us? I imagine you would have presented your research in Portuguese..

We're looking to combine permaculture-based agriculture with tourism and (nature) education on the land, as well as ofcourse living on it ourselves. Although it seems to be getting more common in the more southern parts of Portugal, I haven't really found this kind of combo close to Porto. Maybe we could invite and inspire the city dwellers there to broaden there horizons, and maybe get inspired themselves just like we have been with many great examples before us, such as yourself.

Thanks again,

Ward

Can worms be used for a secondary filtration system. If the runoff from a septic tank led to a vermicomposting bin, would the secondary wastewater provide enough nutrient for the worms to feed? If so, what would be the ideal mix for it to be in?

Thanks and apologies for my lack of understanding. Just trying (and struggling) to get my head around everything

Nico

I can't set up a vermicomposting toilet where I live so I was wondering

Can I set up a bin outside  that will vermicompost  humanure successfully?

If so what are some of the things I would need to know?

Thanks

I'm considering integrating a vermicomposting flush system into a design for a house in Greece. The summers get very hot and from what I understand the worms can't handle high temperatures. What would you recommend I do? Could I set the IBC tank a few feet into the ground so it's naturally kept cool? Would this have any negative affects?

Thanks in advance:)

Luca