MSU Baker’s Acres Observatory Sanitary Sewer Design

This site is located in a rural area of Webster County, northwest of Marshfield, Missouri. The existing sanitary sewer system at this campus has inadequate capacity, particularly during events held at the Bakers Acres Observatory. The current facility hosts events that draw approximately 100 visitors, and a planned expansion is expected to increase attendance to between 500 and 1,000.

 

Due to a very small university budget and the absence of a nearby public sewer system, the options were limited to a septic system or sewage lagoons. The university opposed lagoons, so a septic system design was chosen. The area draining away from the observatory is dense woodland unsuitable for a large leaching field, posing a significant design challenge for CFS.

 

Since the large events at the observatory occur only 6 to 8 times a year, CFS proposed a specialized septic system. This system includes a septic tank, a retention pumping tank, a timer, and dosing and leaching chambers. This design allows drainage to be metered over several days, significantly reducing the required size of the drain field. The distribution box with leaching chambers provided substantially more storage capacity than traditional lateral field piping. With this design, we achieved a capacity of 3,000 gallons per day, capable of servicing up to 600 users, with the potential for future expansion to accommodate even larger observatory events.

 

CFS provided a comprehensive suite of services, including soil evaluation, site location analysis, engineering, technical specifications, bid documents, permitting, and on-site inspection.