Shown above are two different Puraflo peat biofilter systems. These systems take septic tank effluent and pass it through peat, in a manner similar to a sandfilter system and then load the treated effluent into the soil for final treatment and disposal.
There are ways to sample, and ways not to sample. Joe Walsh, President on Bord na Mona, the manufacturer of the Puraflo system, is demonstrating the latter.
Distribution boxes are used on some Puraflo systems to split effluent among conventional (but downsized) drainfield trenches. Notice the tea stained effluent color in the distribution box above. This is the normal color of effluent from a Puraflo during the first few months of operation. The color comes from tanins leaching out of peat and closely mimics the operation of natural wetland systems. In time, the color clears up.