Apparatus for in-situ reconditioning of a media used in an effluent treatment bed

An apparatus for in-situ reconditioning of a media used in an effluent treatment bed in which passage of effluent has become impeded by clogging matter within the media, the bed being planted with vegetation having roots extending into the media, the apparatus comprising:

• a frame supporting a superstructure operable to be disposed above a surface of the bed when in operation;
• a pair of spaced apart arms having distal ends extending downwardly from the frame;
• an agitator extending between the distal ends of the pair of arms and having a plurality of tines for sub-surface tilling of the media, the agitator being coupled via a drivetrain to a drive system disposed within the superstructure and operable to cause rotation of the agitator;
• and
• a lifter bar disposed between the pair of arms above the agitator such that, when the frame is advanced through the bed, the lifter bar passes through the bed below a primary root zone of the vegetation, the lifter bar being operably configured to:
• lift and separate the primary root zone relative to a depth of the agitator within the bed while the agitator tills the media below the primary root zone to cause clogging matter to be separated from the media;
• and
• lower the lifted primary root zone relative to the depth of the agitator after the agitator tills the media below the lifted primary root zone.