Most of us probably don’t spend a whole lot of time thinking about septic systems let alone attending a demonstration on how one works. Throughout history waste management has been a concern for every civilization. Human waste was dumped directly into a river, stream or ditch causing diseases like cholera and typhoid to spread. Even open out houses and farm manure pits were a cause for concern. In 1860, one Frenchman named Jean-Louis Mouras became tired of having to use the outhouse in cold weather. So, he set about inventing a primitive septic system using concreate and clay pipes. The pipes ran from his house to a tank he had buried in the yard. Over the next few years, he adjusted his design and patented his invention. Shortly after his patent was issued the first septic systems arrived in America. Shortly after World War II septic systems became widespread in the US.
Rural houses do not have the advantage of city sewage treatment plants, so they need a way to deal with sewage. Septic tanks are a satisfactory method of providing sewage treatment for rural homes. In a septic tank waste is attacked by aerobic bacteria (bacteria that live without air), decomposing it into liquids, gasses and mineral residue. The liquid is discharged into a filter bed while the gases escape through the house sewer and out through the sewer vents. From the 1920s through the 1950s, the Extension Service provided information, published bulletins and gave demonstrations of modern septic tanks and drain field construction.