I'm so thankful that God gave a man the ability to invent a septic tank, because if it wasn't for the wisdom that was given to him we might still be polluting our rivers and creeks with human waste if we didn't have this guy. The guy I'm talking about is John Mouras.
It is written in history that around 1860, French engineer John Mouras invented the first septic tank. His prototype tank was built with concrete. He funneled wastewater through the mainline it was built using clay pipe. Curiosity had overcome John Mouras around 1870. He decided to open up the tank to see if his invention really had worked. He discovered, that indeed it did. What he found in his tank was almost no solid waste. About 10 years later, he then patented his invention and brought it to America! They became increasingly popular after WWII.
Today's modern septic tanks can still be made out of concrete. But you can also use fiberglass and hard plastic for tanks. We now have the option of ABS or PVC piping for mainlines and no longer need clay. French engineer John Mouras sure did know what he was doing because the concept of the system has not really been changed. The only big changes are regulations to the size of the system.
picture credits:http://djwl.co.uk/blog/brief-history-septic-tanks/